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UNITED STATES OF AMEEI€A. 



HOLD THE FOKT 

A BOOK FOR THE YOUNG. 



BY REV. A. HOUTZ, A. M. 



READING, PA.: 
DANIEL MILLER, PUBLISHER. 

1892. 



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COPYRIGHT, 1892, 
BY REV A. HOUTZ. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In launching this little bark on the literary sea, 
we cannot with any degree of certainty predict its des- 
tiny. It has not the reputation of an established and 
renowned author to secure it a safe and successful 
voyage. It must go upon its own merits. We hope, 
however, that the reader will be gentle in his criti- 
cisms, and seek its merits rather than its demerits. 
We do not claim perfection for it. Like its author 
as well as its reader, it may have its imperfections. 

Who does not enjoy a visit from a graodfather ? 
There is something grand in his silvery locks, in his 
seriousness, and in his rich experience. How pleas- 
ant it is to have him entertain the family, and espe- 
cially the children, with his narrations of the past. 
Having lived through the late civil war, he recol- 
lects its stirring events, and can recall them at will. 
One incident, that of " Holding the Fort,*' he recalls 
with pleasure, and makes it the theme of several in- 
teresting evening talks. While he does not antici- 
pate another civil war soon, he knows from experi- 
ence that many conflicts await the young ; that in 
the moral and religious world there are many strong- 
holds to be defended against the power of sin and 
satan ; that every individual who is on the side of 
right and truth, will have hand to hand conflicts 
with the enemy. 

Moral and religious principles are great things. 
They are the strongholds of Christ's kingdom. Sa- 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

tan and his emissaries are trying to overthrow them. 
Christ calls upon all His followers to defend and 
maintain them— to hold the fort. 

In this little book the buoyant youth who thinks 
not of danger, who is unconscious of the delusive 
paths of vice, and who suspects not the subtilty of 
the wicked one, is put on his guard and urged to 
vigilance. Here the professed soldier of the cros-, 
whose hands tremble and whose knees shake, is en- 
couraged and exhorted to firmness and faithfulness. 
Here the child of affliction is taught the true signi- 
ficance of suffering, and is exhorted to patience and 
resignation to God's will, having the promise, " If we 
suffer, we shall also reign with him." 2 Tim. 2 : 12. 

If this little volume should be the means of lead- 
ing the youth to realize more fully his danger and to 
take a more positive stand on the side of right and 
truth, of leading the faltering Christian to brace up 
and meet with courage and faith the issues of life, 
and of leading the child of affliction to realize that 
God is gracious and sympathetic, and will soon 
exchange the bitter cup for the cup of heavenly nec- 
tar, then we shall feel that this book has accomplished 
a mission worthy of its existence. Believing that a 
kind Providence will attend its journeyings, we now 
send it forth into the wide world, hoping it will have 
access to many homes and the patronage of many 
readers. THE AUTHOR. 

Obangeville, PAt 



DEDICATION. 



To the glory of Christ, our Lord, 
I this little book award ; 
He is the Way, the Truth, the Life ; 
Our great Captain in the strife. 

Next, I dedicate it to those 
Who me their shepherd chose, 
Who, in the use of holy rites. 
Seek the smiling face of Light. 

Then in order, I counsel give 
To those who in wedlock live. 
Who at the altar's sacred shrine 
Vowed their marriage contract signed. 

Last, I address with pious thoughts 
Those who with trials are wrought. 
To them words of cheer I would speak, 
That they, too, victory may reap. 

A. H. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Chapter I.— Hold the Fort, . . 9 

Chapter II. — Fort Honesty, . 17 

Chapter III.— Fort Truth, . . 34 

Chapter IV. — Fort Humility, . 44 

Chapter V. — Fort Patience, . . 60 

Chapter VI. — Fort Perseverance, 79 

Chapter VII. — Fort Kindness, . 108 

Chapter VIII.— Fort Faith, . . 119 

Chapter IX. — Fort Temperance, 147 



CHAPTER I. 



Hold the Fort. 



In an humble village home there lived a 
happy family consisting of the parents and 
four children. The names and ages of these 
children were respectively as follows : Amy, 
six years; David, eight; Charity, eleven, 
and Walter, fourteen. The father was a 
sober and industrious man ; and, although 
in very moderate circumstances, he made a 
comfortable living for his family. His chil- 
dren, like many others of their age, were at 
times a little boisterous and contentious. 
But it was easy for them to settle down and 
listen with patience to their grandfather who 
came to stay a few days with them. He 
was very fond of his grandchildren, and had 
the rare faculty of entertaining them with 
interesting and instructive stories. This 
2 



10 HOLD THE* FORT. 

chapter introduces a talk which he gave 
them on the subject of ^^Hold the Fort/' and 
which is as follows : 

You remember, children, that there is a 
song found in some of our Sunday school 
singing books called " Hold the Fort." This 
song at one time was very popular, and 
children generally loved to sing it. Its tune 
was inspiring and much more so its senti- 
ment. But while that song may have 
worn out, the principle which it illustrated 
will not cease to exist. It is to inculcate 
that principle into your tender minds that 
I have selected this topic for my conversa- 
tion, which I hope will be both interesting 
and profitable to you all. The expression 
" Hold the Fort" originated in this way : 
During the late civil war a garrison was 
occupying a fort which protected a very 
important place. The enemy made an at- 
tack upon this fort and endeavored to cap- 
ture it. The contest was between a faithful 
few within the fort and a superior number 
of the enemy without. It was feared that 



HOLD THE FOKT. 11 

the enemy would overpower the garrison 
and compel it to surrender. The attack on 
the fort being anticipated, a detachment of 
soldiers was sent to reinforce it. This assis- 
tance was very timely, perhaps saved the 
fort. Coming in sight at the most critical 
moment, its commander took in the situation 
and signaled, ^^Hold the fort," and then has- 
tened to the rescue. The prospect of help re- 
newed the courage of that devoted little band. 
Inspired with new hope, it shouted and re- 
sisted with renewed courage the attacks of 
the enemy. Soon the relief arrived and 
further efforts of the enemy to capture the 
fort were useless. You may well imagine 
the joy this timely hel23 awakened in the 
hearts of those brave defenders of that fort. 
The message that was signaled to them re- 
vived their dying hope, and, like magic, in- 
spired their souls with courage. They held 
the fort and were crowned the victors of 
that conflict. 

" Grandpa,'' said David, " were there any 
boys among those brave defenders of that 
fort?" 



12 HOLD THE FORT. 

I think not. The government did not 
often enlist boys in the army. Occasionally 
a drummer boy was admitted, but the army 
was com|)osed of able-bodied men. Many 
were young men, even as young as eighteen 
years. 

" I would like to be a soldier in some fort 
where I would have nothing to do but shoot 
out at the enemy when he advances to make 
an attack. I would give him a better brush- 
ing than Gen. Jackson gave the enemy that 
moved against his breastworks of cotton 
bales at New Orleans/' said David. 

" Grandpa, did they have any girls in the 
army ?" inquired Charity. 

No, not as soldiers. The government, 
however, employed a number of devoted 
women as nurses. They were often obliged 
to undergo a great many hardships and 
self-denials. They were indeed ministering 
angels to the sick and wounded soldiers. 
And many a soldier owes his life to the 
kindness of some faithful army nurse whose 
name and countenance he has forgotten, but 
whose kind attention he will never forget. 



HOLD THE FOET. 13 

Thus, while our government did not em- 
ploy women as soldiers to engage in actual 
battle, it did employ some as nurses to wait 
on the sick and wounded. But, children,. 
I know of a government which enlists in 
its military service not only men and wom- 
en, but even boys and girls. 

" O grandpa/' said David, " do tell us 
where that government is. What fun it 
would be if all of us boys and girls could 
be enlisted in military service. Yes, it 
would be sport to carry arms, stay in a fort 
and shoot at the enemy when he comes 
within gunshot. What fun it would be to 
put the enemy to flight. How we would 
beat the drum and shout, victory ! victory ! 
victory ! O grandpa, do tell us where they 
enlist boys and girls to defend forts. We 
will all volunteer, and be good and true as 
was that little band of faithful soldiers in 
the late civil war you have been telling us 
about." 

Well, children, it will be necessary for 
me to explain matters a little. You know 



14 HOLD THE FORT. 

that during our great civil war there were 
two governments at war with each other. 
Tiie one was called the federal government, 
which consisted of the middle, northern and 
eastern states, and the other was called the 
confederate government, which consisted of 
the southern slave states. Now these two 
governments were unfriendly to each other. 
They took up arms and fought against each 
other. In like manner there are two oppos- 
ing spiritual kingdoms in this world. The 
one is good and the other evil. The one is 
the kingdom of light, and the other the 
kingdom of darkness. The one is the king- 
dom of Christ, and the other the kingdom 
of satan. Now we all belong to the one or 
the other of these two opposing spiritual 
kingdoms. Which kingdom would you, 
children, rather belong to ? 

" The kingdom of Light and Christ !'' 
they all exclaim. 

I hope, dear children, that you are all in 
that kingdom and will be loyal to your King 
as long as you live. 



HOLD THE FOET. 15 

Now what I wish to say is this : Christ's 
kingdom is opposed to the kingdom of sa- 
tan. There is a great war going on between 
these two great powers. Satan has all his 
subjects enlisted in his cause, and Christ 
wants all His subjects to enlist in His cause. 

" I am ready to join/' says David. " So 
am I," says Charity. '^And I, too," ex- 
claims Walter. 

Now, children, if you have a little j)a- 
tience, I will show you how Christ wants 
you all to join His army and that He has 
forts in which He wants to place all good 
men and women, boys and girls. 

The strongholds of His kingdom are cer- 
tain principles which we are to defend as a 
garrison defends a fort. He has a long line 
of these forts, and satan is trying to capture 
them. Whenever the enemy makes a se- 
vere attack, the Great Captain signals to 
the garrison, ^^Hold the Fort, for I am 
coming." 

Indeed we may say that Christ has as- 
signed to His followers the whole line of 



16 HOLD THE FORT. 

strongholds which protect His kingdom of 
Right and Truth from the power of sin and 
satan. Paul says in Ephesians 6, 12, " We 
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but 
against principalities, against powers, against 
the rulers of the darkness of this world, 
against spiritual wickedness in high places." 

Now, as every fort has its particular point 
to guard and its assigned garrison to defend 
it, so every moral and religious fort has its^ 
j)articular principle to maintain and its as- 
signed garrison. If we belong to the army 
of Christ and have espoused the cause of 
truth and righteousness, then we have some 
special principles to maintain — a fort to 
hold and a corresponding enemy to resist. 
In the course of our conversation we will 
pass along this line of forts and consider 
the bulwarks of Zion, and cheer and en- 
courage their garrisons. 

Lest I weary you, I will close our con- 
versation for to-night ; and to-morrow even- 
ing I will talk about one of those forts 
which God wants you to help defend. 



CHAPTER 11. 



Fort Honesty. 



I have selected for our topic this evening 
Fort Honesty. God wants all boys and 
girls to enter this fort. He wants them to 
be honest. 

Amy asks, " Grandpa, wdiat is honesty ?" 
It is to deal uprightly with our fellow- 
men. The other day I saw an advertise- 
ment of tobacco. It consisted df an old 
man with a stove-pipe hat on his head, 
holding up a plug of tobacco and calling it 
" Old Honesty." I certainly do not refer to 
any such filthy thing as tobacco. However 
genuine, it is not honest. On the contrary, 
it is very dishonest. It robs the toiler of 
his wages, the stomach of saliva, the body 
of health, the nerves of steadiness, and very 
often the family of food, raiment and shel- 



18 HOLD THE FOET. 

ter. No, tobacco tliat claims to be honest 
is a fraud, a deceit and a mock ; and he 
that uses it is not wise. But I mean hon- 
esty as a principle of right dealing with 
God and man. Honesty is a principle of 
moral strength. A man that is honest has 
one strong principle of right. He has in- 
fluence with others and enjoys their confi- 
dence. A man may be poor in worldly 
goods, yet if he is honest, he is sure to com- 
mand the respect of his fellowmen. 

One of the first principles taught us when 
we were children, was honesty. Then we 
had this stronghold committed to us and its 
faithful defence enjoined upon us. There 
are many who have maintained this f)rin- 
ciple from youth. They are reputed as be- 
ing honest at all times and in all things. 
But not a few, who, after maintaining the 
principle for a long time, at last in an un- 
guarded moment allowed themselves to be 
surprised by satan and yielded to his temp- 
tation. 

A few years ago there came to my notice 



FOET HONESTY. 19 

an occurrence which was sad mdeed, and 
almost led me to feel that no one is abso- 
lutely honest, but all are subjects of dis- 
honesty and suspicion. A certain man en- 
joyed the confidence of the community from 
his youth. He filled difierent positions of 
trust, and moved in the line of confidence 
and promotion. He was beyond suspicion, 
and for many years held the fort of hon- 
esty against the assaults of the great temp- 
ter. It was thought that none could fill a 
certain position in the express company 
better and' safer than he. For a number of 
years he filled this position with great ac- 
ceptance. But after many years of appar- 
ently faithful service, it was suddenly and 
very unexpectedly discovered that there was 
a shortage in his accounts. At first suspi- 
cion was fixed upon a young man who was 
subsequently proven to be innocent. Not 
the slightest clue of the guilty party could 
be found. For two years the whole affair 
was shrouded in mystery. No one breathed 
the least suspicion that the man who filled 



20 HOLD THE FORT. 

the responsible position and was considered 
proof against all temjDtation, might be the 
guilty one. But his subsequent outlay for 
his family, in excess of his income, gave rise 
to a little suspicion. This formed a very 
delicate clue, but by being carefully un- 
ravelled by experienced hands, it led to a 
shocking revelation. That voice of suspi- 
cion which at first was weak and feeble, at 
last uttered boldly the astonishing declara- 
tion, "Thou art the many Like a thunder 
clap on a cloudless day, it uttered a truth 
which the public was not inclined to be- 
lieve. The whole town and neighborhood 
were thrown into excitement. Was it be- 
cause an officer embezzled the funds of an 
express company ? No, that often occurs. 
But it was because the community felt that 
a fort had been captured — that a stronghold 
had been taken by the enemy ; that a man 
who had been noted for honesty so many 
years had fallen, and with him all the con- 
fidence that had been reposed in him. This 
is not a mere isolated case. Similar cases 



FOET HONESTY. 21 

are occurring almost daily. How true the 
admonition of our Lord, " Let him that 
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 
1 Cor. 10 : 12. How important that we 
daily seek God's grace, and pray, " Lead us 
not into temptation." 

An honest man is said to be a most no- 
ble work of creation. There are many ex- 
amples of persevering honesty. When 
Pompeii was being exhumed, a sentinel was 
found who, amidst showers of dust, fire and 
gas, was true to his trust and died at his 
post. . His name is unknown, but his deed 
is immortal. The principle of faithfulness 
to duty under the most trying circumstan- 
ces lives and is worth more than ten thou- 
sand worthless lives. The furies of Vesu- 
vius were turned against that man, but he 
flinched not ; he retreated not ; he held his 
position of trust to the end of life. And 
the eyes of the nineteenth century witness 
with exultant admiration his heroic deed. 
Children, think of this faithful sentinel 
when you are in positions of trust. 



22 HOLD THE FORT. 

It is said that Dr. Clark, who wrote the 
commentary on the Bible, when a boy 
clerked in a dry goods store. One day the 
proprietor asked him to help stretch a piece 
of goods which was not quite long enough 
to meet a certain order. The proprietor 
thought that if he took one end and Clark 
the other, they could stretch it sufficiently 
to make the required length. But Clark 
refused to help the proprietor. He said it 
was not honest, and he, like a little hero, 
defended the principle of honesty by thus 
refusing to do a dishonest act. 

'' Grandpa, should not all clerks defend 
Fort Honesty V^ asked Amy. 

Yes, my child. All clerks are surround- 
ed by temptations to dishonesty, and they 
can defend the fort by resisting these temp- 
tations. The position of a clerk is a trying 
one. He is exposed to temj)tation, because 
the opportunities of being dishonest are nu- 
merous. It is the opportunity that makes 
the thief in many cases. Some do not steal 
because they do not have the opportunity. 



FOKT HONESTY. 23 

If any of you ever become a clerk, be hon- 
est. Do not take advantage of your cus- 
tomers by overcharging or in giving less 
change than is due them. Never be guilty 
of robbing your proprietor by taking, on 
the sly, articles of merchandize, or change 
from the money drawer. Be honest to the 
very penny, and you will fare better in the 
end. 

God calls upon all clerks and merchants 
to defend this principle. There are many 
merchants who have the well-merited repu- 
tation of being honest. They are reliable, 
and. the people feel safe in dealing with 
them. They never blarney their customers 
and use few adjectives in reference to their 
goods. They give an honest statement as 
to their quality and price, and they are 
generally correct in their book accounts. 
A dishonest merchant is an unprincipled 
man. He flatters his customers and says 
much about the superior quality of his 
goods and their cheapness. His customers 
are finally drawn in and victimized. They 



24 HOLD THE FOKT. 

soon discover that the goods have been too 
highly rated in quality and price. A feel- 
ing of dissatisfaction is produced. They 
lose confidence in that merchant, and will 
deal sparingly and suspiciously with him. 

Be honest, children. It may ajDpear to 
be a plodding way of getting along, but it 
is the best. I have known merchants who 
have enjoyed the confidence of the commu- 
nity for years. Their prosperity wa-s not 
rapid, but gradual ; slow, but sure. They 
built up not only a trade, but also a repu- 
tation for honesty. They thus maintained 
in their business this principle and become 
its true defenders. 

" Grandpa, are only merchants called 
upon to do garrison duty in this fort T^ asks 
David. 

Oh, no, my dear child. The tailor is 
called upon to be honest in making gar- 
ments. The shoemaker, too, should be 
honest in putting good material into the 
shoes he makes, and bestowing good work 
uj)on them. And the baker should be hon- 



FOET HONESTY. 25 

est in his business by using pure material. 
The carpenter can build a house honestly 
or dishonestly. The mason can do his work 
honestly or dishonestly. An honest me- 
chanic is one who puts in his full time, is 
busy during working hours and does his 
work well. Any common laborer can rob 
liis employer by not giving in return for 
his wages a sufficient quantity and quality 
of work. " Killing time" and " standing 
out one's road tax/' are familiar examples. 

Indeed every person is called upon to 
practice "honesty, the rich and the poor, the 
high and the low, the young and the aged. 
It is a great principle of the Christian relig- 
ion. It is implied in the commandment, 
^^ Thou shalt not steal." And it is positive- 
ly declared in the words, " Provide things 
honest in the sight of all men." 

Solomon in Prov. 15 : 3 says, " The eyes 
of the Lord are in every place, beholding 
the evil and the good." Nothing can escape 
His notice. AVhen Achan stole the silver, 
the gold and the Babylonish garments, he 
3 



26 HOLD THE FORT. 

concealed them, and thought no one would 
find him out. But God saw him commit 
the deed, his own conscience condemned 
him ; and it was not long till his great sin 
was discovered by the people, and all Israel 
stoned him, and burned him and raised over 
him a great heap of stones. This was a 
monument to his crime and its punishment, 
and was a warning to God's people. 

When Ananias and Sapphira withheld a 
certain portion from the Lord, they com- 
mitted the sin of dishonesty. They thought 
no one knew their crime. When questioned, 
they lied about the matter. But they could 
not keep their crime hid from God, who not 
only disclosed their great sin, but also 
punished them immediately with death. 
This incident was faithfully recorded that 
it might be an admonition to the living in 
all subsequent time. This man and woman 
were not only dishonest, but were led by 
their dishonest act to tell a lie. So boys 
often do a dishonest act, and when they are 
questioned about it, they tell lies. Thus 



FOKT HONESTY. 27 

one sin leads to another, one crime to an- 
other. One step in the downward road pre- 
pares for another. 

Ananias and Sapphira were covetous. 
They pretended to have given their all to 
the Master, but kept back a part. So, we 
fear, many in our day are influenced by 
the same selfish spirit. Like them they 
may be prosperous and appear to be hon- 
est in their dealings with their fellow- 
men. Perhaps they are honest in their 
dealings because it is policy. But in deal- 
ing with God and His cause they act from 
neither policy nor principle. They daily 
partake of God's bounty and are dependent 
upon Him who is the giver of every good 
and perfect gift. But they do not recog- 
nize the claims of God upon them. They 
virtually defraud their Maker out of His 
just claims. In Malachi 3 : 8 we read, 
" Will a man rob God ? Yet ye have robbed 
me. But ye say. Wherein have we robbed 
thee ? In tithes and offerings.'' In the Old 
Testament times the people were obliged to 



28 HOLD THE FOET. 

give one-tenth of their income to the cause 
of the Lord. In our dispensation there is 
no law rigidly binding us to a specified 
amount, but we are taught that all we have 
belongs to God, and that it is only loaned to 
us, and we are to use it for His honor and 
glory. Christ says in Matt. 10 : 8, " Freely 
ye have received, freely give." Christ 
highly commended the j30or widow who cast 
in two mites, which was all that she had. 
The rich usually give but little of their abun- 
dance, but this poor widow gave all that she 
had. One of His disciples said, " Lo, we 
have left all, and have followed thee." Mark 
10 : 28. But what are professed Christians 
of to-day doing? In some churches the 
benevolence does not average yearly twenty- 
five cents per member, in others not over 
fifty cents per member, and in a very few 
churches does it average one dollar per 
member. The Jews gave one-tenth of their 
increase, but very few professed Christians 
in our day give one-hundredth. Is not this 
withholding from the Lord that which be- 
longs to Him ? 



FORT HOISTESTY. 29 

Christ says the poor ye have always with 
you. He has His orphans' homes, the 
schools of the prophets where young men 
are prepared for the ministry, His superan- 
nuated ministers, and His missions at home 
and in foreign lands. These are some of 
the institutions of His kingdom. And He 
demands a portion of our income to sustaim 
them. In answer to the great questionv 
" Wilt a man rob God ?" I say the man who 
is withholding the Lord's portion does this. 
Hence " the love of money is the root of all ' 
evil." 1 Tim. 6 : 10. Jesus said, Mark 
10 : 23 : '' How hardly shall they that have 
riches enter into the kingdom of God." 

A man who sets his heart upon his riches 
is an idolator, and '' no idolator shall inherit 
the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. 6 : 9. Our 
Savior said in Matth. 6 : 24, " No man can 
serve two masters : for either he will hate • 
the one, and love the other ; or else he will 
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye 
cannot serve God and mammon." Ananias 
and Sapphira tried to serve these two mas- 



30 HOLD THE FORT. 

ters, but they were wrecked for two worlds, 
this and the future world. God entered 
into a fearful reckoning with them, and on 
account of their dishonesty and lying, tliey 
were stricken with instant death, temporal 
and eternal. We fear that many whom God 
has blessed with abundance will, in like 
manner, have a fearful reckoning at the 
last day. We should never forget that 
withholding the Lord's portion or that which 
we should give to charitable objects, is dis- 
honesty in the sight of God. Solomon says 
in Prov. 11 : 24, " There is that scattereth, 
and yet increaseth ; and there is that with- 
holdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth 
to poverty." At the judgment day Jesus 
will declare who were honest and who were 
not ; who withheld His portion and who 
did not. Let us turn to Matthew's 25th 
chapter and read from the 31st verse 
to the 46th verse: ^' When the Son of 
man shall come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon 
the throne of his glory : And before him 



FORT HOISTESTY. 31 

shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall 
separate them one from another, as a shep- 
herd divideth his sheep from the goats : 
And he shall set the sheep on his right 
hand, bnt the goats on the left. Then shall 
the King say unto them on his right hand, 
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
tion of the world : For I was a hungered, 
and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and 
ye gave me drink : I was a .stranger, and ye 
took me in : Naked, and ye clothed me ; 
I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in 
prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall 
the righteous answer him, saying. Lord, 
when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee, 
or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When saw 
we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or 
naked, and clothed thee ? Or when saw we 
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ? 
And the King shall answer and say unto 
them. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye 
have done it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then 



32 HOLD THE FORT. 

shall lie say also unto them on the left hand. 
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlastmg 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels : 
For I was a hungered, and ye gave me no 
meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me no 
drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me 
not in : naked, and ye clothed me not : 
sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 
Then shall they also answer him, saying. 
Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, or 
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or 
in prison, and did not minister unto thee ? 
Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily 
I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not 
to one of the least of these, ye did it not to 
me. And these shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment : but the righteous into 
life eternal." 

Now, children, if you would enjoy the 
favor of God in this life and His commen- 
dations at the judgment day, be honest, not 
only in your dealings with mankind, but 
be honest in a higher sense by meeting the 
just claims of God and mankind upon your 



FORT HOIN^ESTY. 33 

liberality. We are servants of God. He 
has committed talents to us, and we are to 
use them for His glory and the good of 
mankind. That is rendering to Caesar the 
things that are Caesar's, and to God the 
things that are God's. Withhold not that 
which belongs to God or your fellowmen. 
Remember that honesty is a great moral 
principle. You are called upon to hold 
this fort, that is, to maintain and practice 
this principle. This night, before lying 
down to sleep, ask God to give you grace 
to be honest, that you may never take ad- 
vantage of your playmates or deceive them 
in any way ; and that should your lives be 
spared, that you f (may become honest men 
and women. As it is now late, we will close 
our interesting conversation, and, if God 
permits, we will talk | about another fort to- 
morrow night. 



CHAPTER III. 



Fort Truth. 



Well, children, this evening finds you all 
here punctually. I am glad that you are 
here in good time, so as to take j)art in our 
evening talk. I like promj^tness and punc- 
tuality. I often think that a minister must 
be annoyed by tardy members coming into 
church after the services have commenced. 

Well, children, before taking up the sub- 
ject for this evening's talk, perhaps it would 
be better to review our last evening's con- 
versation. Do you remember what we were 
talking about last evening ? 

" Honesty — Fort Honesty," all reply. 

Have you practiced honesty since last 
night ? 

David said : "1 found a knife to-day on 
my way to school and I was tempted to 



FOET TEUTH. 35 

keep quiet about it. But I could not forget 
what you told us last night, and something 
whispered in my ear, ' Hold the fort.' 1 
then prayed to God to help me to be honest. 
I then went to my teacher and told him to 
take the knife and try to find its owner. 
The teacher stated to the school that I had 
found a knife, and that the scholar who had 
lost it should come forward and receive it. 
Little Guy Scott had lost it and the teacher 
returned it to him, who seemed to be very 
much pleased. The teacher then told the 
school that this was a noble example of 
honesty on my part, and urged them all to 
do in like manner. I am glad that I did not 
keep the knife. I know I would have been 
unhappy and in constant fear of being found 
out, but now I have an approving conscience 
and the good will of my teacher and the 
thanks of little Guy Scott. I feel, too, that 
I have held the fort." 

Well, David, I am glad to hear that you 
took such a noble stand. You had a hard 
struggle with the enemy, but you gained the 



36 HOLD THE FORT. 

victory over the great tempter. This one 
triumph will give you strength to resist the 
tempter on other similar occasions. I hope 
you will all pursue the course that David 
did on every occasion like this. Now we 
will proceed with our topic for to-night. I 
have selected for our conversation this even- 
ing Fort Truth. 

Truth is a very important principle of 
Christ's kingdom. God wants all boys and 
girls, as well as men and women, to speak 
the truth. If satan is " a liar, and the father 
of it," John 8 : 44, then all God's children 
should be opposed to falsehood and vigor- 
ously defend the principle of truth. Truth 
is one of the strongholds of Christ's king- 
dom, and we should all help to defend it. 

It is said that George Washington never 
told a lie. I do not know whether that is 
true or not. At least I can think of no in- 
stance in which he told a wilful falsehood, 
but there is on record an instance when he 
bravely told the truth. A little hatchet 
had been given him. It was natural that 



FOET TKUTH. 37 

ill his great delight he would go about hack- 
ing and cutting everything in his way. One 
day his father observed that a young cherry 
tree was cut down. When the question 
was asked by the father, Who cut this tree 
down ? George frankly confessed that he did 
it. It took courage to tell the truth, but 
that courage little George had. He grew 
up to be a man of courage, and thus became 
the brave defender of his countrymen's 
rights. I suppose his parents were dis- 
pleased at the recklessness of their little son 
in cutting down a choice cherry tree, but 
they were undoubtedly pleased to hear him 
so frankly tell the truth. George might 
have said, " My father is greatly displeased 
that this choice cherry tree is cut down, and 
if I tell him that I did it, he will punish me 
severely. I believe I will tell him that I 
did not do it." But George did not so rea- 
son. He realized now that it was wrong to 
have cut down the tree^ and that it would be 
very wrong to tell a falsehood about it. This 
would only make the evil greater. He 



38 HOLD THE FOKT. 

knew, too, that if he deceived his parents, he 
could not deceive God. Hence, like a little 
man — like a brave hero, he confessed the 
deed. In thus telling the truth, George 
Washington held the fort. He did not allow 
the enemy to capture it. So you see that 
the very first great victory which Washing- 
ton achieved was not won on the battle field 
of the revolutionary war when he was a 
grown up man, six feet tall, but his first 
great victory was won when he was a very 
little boy. I suppose it cost him a great 
struggle. But like a true hero he yielded 
not to fear or falsehood. He triumphantly 
held the fort. Now, children, just as that 
boy of a few years defended a great princi- 
ple by telling the truth, so you can all help 
to defend that fort. It matters not how 
young or little one is, he can help to hold 
the fort. 

" Grandpa, what makes people tell lies V^ 
asks Amy. 

One cause is fear. When a boy does 
some wrong, as stealing something or break- 



FORT TRUTH. 39 

ing some valuable thing, he fears that if he 
is found out, he will be punished. In order 
to cover his crime, he will tell a lie. A lie 
thus told only makes the case worse. If it 
is a sin to steal, it certainly is a great sin to 
try to cover up the theft by a lie. Some- 
times a lie is told to secure the good opinion 
of people. Sometimes boys and girls brag 
considerably. They exaggerate their state- 
ments, and thus try to make a favorable 
impression. Sometimes lying becomes a 
habit with some people. It is sometimes 
dangerous to be an easy talker. A glib 
tongue will often run ahead of the judgment, 
and follow a vain imagination. We have 
known persons of a glib tongue and lively 
imagination to entertain their company by 
spinning out fish stories. The only fault 
about the stories was that they were either 
exaggerated or entirely false. Whatever 
their imagination pictured to their mind, 
they told as truth, whereas perhaps it had 
no existence except in their imagination. 
It is possible to tell a lie by being silent. 



40 HOLD THE FOKT. 

One time a boy broke a window glass in the 
school house. When the teacher discovered 
the broken pane of glass, he asked the school 
who had done it. This little boy with the 
other scholars remained silent — he did not 
say a word about the matter. Somehow he 
did not feel ri2:ht. When he went home he 
feared to enter the house. He did not like 
to meet his parents. At night he was very 
uneasy, and was afraid to go to bed. After 
being awake some time, he fell asleep. In 
the morning he felt shy and afraid of his 
parents. He carried a great load on his 
little heart. After breakfast he started to 
school, but did not wear the usual smile on 
his face. He did not like the looks of the 
school house that morning. Even his 
schoolmates seemed to say, " You broke the 
window glass, I will tell on you." He 
feared to meet his teacher that morning. 
There was a great struggle in his little breast. 
It was a struggle between fear and truth. 
He felt that he ought to acknowledge the 
deed, but fear overcame him. He was very 



FORT TEUTH. 41 

unhappy. He could not study his lesson, 
but rested his head upon the desk. After 
awhile he began to sob. And when the 
teacher asked him what was the matter, he 
sobbed more and burst out crying. The 
teacher asked him if he were sick. " No," 
he sobbed. What then is the matter ? Did 
you break the window glass ? He then cried 
violently. The little fellow cried aud said 
that he did. While the teacher pardoned 
him, concluding that he had suffered enough 
punishment, there w^as a feeling among all 
that he had told a lie by his silence. How 
much better it would have been if, as soon as 
the accident had occurred, he had at once re- 
ported it to his teacher. The teacher would 
have forgiven him and loved him more for 
telling the truth. Instead of having so 
much unhappiness, he would have experi- 
enced the joys of pardon ; and V70uld have 
been looked upon as a brave boy who held 
the Fort of Truth against the attacks of the 
foe. But, by not going to the teacher and 
frankly telling him of the accident and ask- 
4 



42 HOLD THE FORT. 

ing his pardon, and by being silent when the 
teacher asked who had broken the glass, he 
told a lie, and that lie meant that he was a 
cowardly soldier in Fort Truth. 

Thus one can tell a falsehood by simply 
being quiet. And there is such a thing as 
telling a falsehood by telling only part of 
the truth. Little Johnnie West was giving 
his mother an account of his whereabouts on 
a certain afternoon. He named several 
places where he had been and what he had 
been doing there, but he carefully avoided 
saying anything about having been down to 
the creek and in swimming. He left her 
under the impression that he was not at the 
creek, much less in swimming. By his par- 
tial silence he told a lie. To guard against 
falsehood by a partial silence, witnesses be- 
fore magistrates are required to tell " the 
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth." 

Some are thus tempted to tell a lie through 
fear of punishment ; but they should not 
only fear their parents and teachers, but also 



FORT TEUTH. 43 

God, who is displeased with the liar. Some 
arQ tempted to tell lies through love of gain, 
as was the case of Ananias and Sapphira. 
Others tell falsehoods and slander their 
neighbors from pure malice. And not a 
few from indifference. But a lie is a lie, 
and is injurious to mankind and very offen- 
sive to God. He has said in His Holy Word 
that " all liars shall have their part in the 
lake which burneth with fire and brim- 
stone.^' Rev. 2 : 8. God wants every boy 
and girl to hold this Fort of Truth. He 
signals the message, " Hold the fort, for I 
am coming. I will help you by my grace.'' 
Let us pray, therefore, that God will give 
us grace to be honest and truthful. Our 
blessed Savior says, " Let your communica- 
tion be. Yea, yea : Nay, nay : for whatso- 
ever is more than these cometh of evil." 
Matth. 5 : 37. May our prayer ever be, 
Lord Jesus, thou who art absolute truth, 
help us to think the truth, speak the truth, 
and act the truth. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Fort Humility. 



Good-evening, my dear children. I am 
glad to see you all present. I certainly feel 
that you are interested in the subject of 
^' Hold the Fort." Now, before we consider 
the subject for this evening, I must ask you 
a few questions by way of review. What 
was our subject last night? 

All, " Fort Truth." 

Now all who have been truthful the last 
day, will hold up your hands. (All hands 
go up.) 

Well, Amy, how did you hold Fort 
Truth ? 

'' I tangled mamma's thread, and when 
she asked. Who did this ? I said, I did, 
mamma." 

That was right, my little darling. You 



FOKT HUMILITY. 45 

were not only truthful, but also honest. If 
you had denied it, you would not only have 
told a falsehood, but you would also have 
been dishonest in thus putting the blame on 
some one else. 

And David, will you tell us how you held 
Fort Truth ? 

'' When the teacher asked all who did not 
whisper a word in school, to put up their 
hands, I did not put up my hand." 

And so you whispered in school, did you ? 

^^ Yes, grandpa, I whispered. I would 
not put up my hand and tell the teacher a 
falsehood." 

That is right, my dear child. You spoke 
the truth by simply keeping your hand 
down. I have no doubt that many boys 
and girls tell falsehoods by raising their 
hands when they should keep them down. 

And Charity, how did you hold the Fort 
of Truth ? 

" Well, grandpa," said Charity, " when 
playing, I ran against mamma's choice lily 
and broke off a part of it. I felt very sorry, 
as she had received it from aunt Jane and 



46 HOLD THE FORT. 

prized it very highly. As I was thinking 
what you said last evening about honesty, 
I thought I would go right to mamma and 
tell her of the mishap. I not only told her 
about the accident, but also that I was very 
sorry." 

That was right. You thought the truth, 
and you spoke the truth. May God lead 
you always to think, act and speak the truth. 
I have no doubt that while your mother was 
sorry that you broke her choice lily, she 
felt happy to learn that her daughter was so 
truthful. 

Now the subject for this evening's con- 
versation is Fort Humility. This seems to 
be rather a strange name for one of God's 
forts, but the Bible says much about this 
Christian virtue. The clear command is 
given, " Be ye clothed in humility." In 
Matth. 23 : 12 we read, " And whosoever 
shall exalt himself shall be abased ; and he 
that shall humble himself shall be exalted." 
While satan encourages the spirit of pride 
in his subjects, the Lord Jesus demands the 
spirit of humility in His followers. 



FORT humility: 47 

Pride is just the opposite of humility. A 
proud girl feels and thinks that she is better 
than some other girls, simply because she 
has wealthier parents, or is dressed better or 
has a prettier face. She generally carries 
her head high and is a little overbearing in 
her treatment of other girls. Sometimes 
she boasts of the wealth of her parents and 
the cost and beauty of her dress. She treats 
her less favored associates in a way that 
cannot fail to pain them. If she has a party, 
she often slights her nearest associates, be- 
cause she does not regard them "tony" 
enough. Hence she selects a girl here and 
there in the neighborhood according to the 
whim of her vain fancy. She entirely over- 
looks the true object of social gatherings — 
the social benefit of those present. She 
seeks first and last her own selfish end and 
aggrandizement. I am reminded here of 
the instruction our Savior gave His disciples 
in Luke 14 : 12 — 14, " Then said he also 
to him that bade him. When thou makest a 
dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor 



48 HOLD THE FORT. 

thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy 
rich neighbors ; lest they also bid thee again, 
and a recompense be made thee. But when 
thou makest a feast, call the poor, the 
maimed, the lame, the blind : And thou 
shalt be blessed ; for they cannot recom- 
pense thee : for thou shalt be recompensed 
at the resurrection of the just." 

A proud person is a disturbing element 
in society. He makes every person feel un- 
comfortable with whom he comes in contact. 
A lofty look and a high head may be filled 
with conceit, but may contain little common 
sense. The experienced old farmer knows 
that the head of wheat that stands straight 
up, contains little or no grain ; but the 
heads that hang down are usually loaded 
with grain. So true moral worth is most 
apt to be found among the humble. And 
it is well known that an empty barrel will 
make more noise than one that is filled. It 
is no unusual occurrence that those who 
have the most shallow minds, are generally 
very boastful and loquacious. About twenty 



FORT HUMILITY. 49 

years ago I was going to the city of Hazle- 
ton, in which Mr. Pardee lived. At a vil- 
lage station a pompous man entered the cars 
who was full of flourish and very loquacious. 
He was well dressed and wore a high silk 
hat. My first impression was that the ap- 
parent gentleman was Mr. P., the reputed 
millionaire of Hazleton. But the sequel 
proved that my pompous fellow-traveller 
was a man of much demerit, while the gen- 
tleman who bore the name of being a mil- 
lionaire was an exceedingly unpretentious 
man, very humble in his appearance, and 
instead of being inflated with pride, was 
loaded down with business cares and resem- 
bled a plain, honest, hard working man. 

Now, children, I have spoken at some 
length upon the subject ofpride to illustrate 
better its opposite, humility ; to show you 
that all that glitters is not gold ; to put you 
on your guard, so that you will not be de- 
ceived by the vain pretentions of the proud 
and haughty. Humility is a grand princi- 
ple of the Christian religion ; and we as 



50 HOLD THE FORT. 

soldiers of Christ must all try to hold this 
fort. We maintain this virtue by putting 
it to practice. 

I have been trying to think of some one 
who is a good soldier in this fort, and I have 
been thinking about Peter Wilson. Do you 
know him ? 

" Yes, grandpa," responds Walter, " we 
all know him, and we all love him, too." 

And why da you all love him ? 

" I do not know why. He is so common 
and he seems like one of us. He treats us 
as his equals, and is not puffed up with big 
feeling." 

Now, children, I think he is a pious, 
humble Christian. Although his parents 
are in good circumstances, yet he does not 
think that he is better than others on this 
account. Indeed he is just as sociable with 
poor boys who are not so well dressed, as 
with those who are well dressed, and whose 
parents are in good circumstances. He is 
called the poor boys' friend. And they all 
feel easy in his presence and enjoy his com- 



FORT HUMILITY. 51 

pany. When he meets a little boy or girl 
who is timid, he tries to be pleasant to them. 
I have never heard of him boasting of his 
rich parents, his good looks, or of his piety. 
He always appears to be humble. Indeed, 
while he has many excellent qualities of 
which he might be proud, he seems to say 
like the apostle Paul, " By the grace of God 
lam what I am." He seems to act as 
though by nature he were a great sinner, 
and dependent not on his own works, but 
upon the atoning blood of Christ for salva- 
tion. 

I think there is something heavenly and 
divine in an humble Christian. To see this 
virtue in young Christians is certainly very 
commendable. And I believe nothing will 
work this sweet spirit in us better than the 
grace of God. The remembrance of our 
sinful and lost state, and of what Christ has 
done for man's redemption, will make us 
feel humble. The child of God who is re- 
deemed from sin and eternal death, must 
feel that it was sin that brought Jesus down 



52 HOLD THE FORT. 

from heaven, that caused His agony m the 
garden, and His atoning death on the cross. 
Indeed none of us have any room for pride. 
We were by nature sinners, under condem- 
nation, and if saved at all, we must be saved 
by the blood of Jesus. No wonder Paul 
exclaimed in Gal. 6 : 14, '' But God forbid 
that I should glory, save in the cross of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is 
crucified unto me, and I unto the world." 

Humility is a virtue which we must all 
defend. Its great enemy is pride. We 
must try hard to keep pride out of our 
thoughts, feelings and hearts. Pride is very 
offensive to God. The Bible denounces it 
in the strongest language. Let us quote 
from Scripture concerning it : " Pride do I 
hate." Prov. 8 : 13. In Prov. 6 : 16 we 
read that " These six things doth the Lord 
hate," and pride is one of those things. '^A 
high look, and a proud heart, is sin." Prov. 
21 : 4. " Pride goeth before destruction, 
and a haughty spirit before a fall." Prov. 
16 : 18. Nothing is so displeasing to God 



FOET HUMILITY. 53 

and disgusting to sensible people as the airs 
of the haughty and proud. And we know 
that the Holy Spirit will not stay in a proud 
heart. 

What a blessed example of meekness and 
humility we have in our divine Master. He 
was " meek and lowly in heart." Matth. 
11 : 29. " Though he was rich^ yet for 
your sakes he became poor, that ye through 
his poverty might be rich," 2 Cor. 8 : 9. 
May we ever pray that God would give us 
His grace to be meek and humble, and not 
to think of ourselves more highly than we 
ought to think ; but to think soberly. Our 
song should be : 

*^ Do not I love thee, O my Lord ? 

Behold my heart and see ; 

And turn the dearest idol out 

That dares to rival thee." 

" Here's my heart — O take and seal it ; 
Seal it from thy courts above." 

May we all possess the sentiment of Paul 
when he exclaimed, '' But God forbid that 
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord 



54 HOLD THE FORT. 

Jesus Christ, by whom the world is cruci- 
fied unto me, and I unto the world." Gal. 
6: 14. 

Humility is a great principle of Christ's 
kingdom, and we must fight hard to defend 
it against the assaults of pride. It takes 
much watching and prayer to hold this fort. 
It seems that there is not an hour in our life 
in which we are not obliged to fight against 
pride. 

If a minister of the Gospel seems to suc- 
ceed in delivering a sermon, the devil is 
ready to suggest such thoughts as these to 
his mind : " Well, you preached a fine ser- 
mon to-day. You are indeed eloquent. 
You stand high in the scale of pulpit abil- 
ity, and you should not regard yourself as a 
merely ordinary preacher." Ah ! it is the 
devil trying to capture that minister's Fort 
of Humility. Once a theological student 

was invited to fill the pulpit of Dr. -. 

He regarded this invitation as a great honor 
and cheerfully consented to comply. The 
devil put such thoughts as these into the 



FORT HUMILITY. 55 

shallow head of this student : " You must 
be considered a young man of marked abil- 
ity or you would not be invited to fill the 

pulpit of the renowned pastor, Dr. . 

Your conduct and manners should not be 
inferior to the high estimation the doctor 
has evidently placed upon you. Your star 
is evidently rising, and you ought to let it 
shine." The young man accordingly let his 
star shine, but it soon fell like a meteor, as 
the sequel proves. On Sunday morning 
this pompous student might have been seen 
walking with measured steps to the church. 
With an air of great importance he slowly 
walked up the aisle, giving all an opportunity 
of seeing the orator of the day. To the right 
of the pulpit he carefully placed his high 
silk hat, then his gold-headed cane which 
he had borrowed, and his new kid gloves he 
laboriously removed from his hands and 
placed them into his hat. With assumed 
dignity he entered the pulpit. After going 
through the formalities of silent prayer he 
surveyed his audience. He then adjusted 



56 HOLD THE FOET. 

his cravat, his mustache, his mouth, his 
nose, and finally his throat. This scene was 
accompanied by a few flourishes of the hand- 
kerchief and a little artificial coughing. 
When all was ready, he began the service in 
a high key. His looks were lofty. He 
read and prayed in a lofty key. He began 
to preach in a high-sounding and lofty 
manner. He had scarcely proceeded ten 
minutes with his discourse, when it was ap- 
parent to all that the aspiring and soaring 
eagle had reached his climax and was rap- 
idly declining. It was not long until he 
literally broke down in his discourse. With 
confusion and shame he concluded the 
service as best he could. He did not know 
where to look, as he neither wished any one 
to see him, nor did he wish to see any one. 
He gathered up his traj)s of pretended dig- 
nity, his hat, cane and gloves, and began to 
sneak out of the church. He suddenly 
came upon an old man in the aisle who, 
tapping hmi on the shoulder, said, " Young 
man, had you gone up as you came down. 



FORT HUMILITY. 57 

you might have come down as you went up.'' 
He meant that if the young man had gone 
up into the pulpit in the spirit of humility 
and of dependence on God, he might have 
come down with a feeling of satisfaction and 
respect. Truly, " Pride goeth before de- 
struction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." 
Prov. 16 : 18. 

Parents cannot be too careful in guarding 
themselves against pride. The dear chil- 
dren are to the family what flowers are to 
the garden. Parents should appreciate 
them as the gift of God. But whence comes 
the thought generally that their children 
are better and more talented than those of 
their neighbors ? Ah, the devil often sug- 
gests such thoughts to parents and tries to 
make idols of their children, so that they 
will pay their devotion to them, and not to 
the true God. It is right for parents to 
love their children and rejoice in them, but 
when in the pride of their hearts they wor- 
ship them, they commit the sin of idolatry. 
May we not suppose that God often takes 
5 



58 HOLD THE FORT. 

away children that He may remove the 
idols from their parents ? To avoid idolatry, 
parents should not only rejoice in their 
children as the gift of God, but should also 
endeavor to realize their dependence upon 
God for the continuation of domestic hap- 
piness and the blessing of children. 

Children should guard against the great 
sin of pride. Satan will tempt them when- 
ever he has an opportunity. When you 
stand before the looking glass, he suggests 
the thought that you are pretty, and would 
induce you to worship self instead of God. 
When you view your dress, he suggests that 
it is prettier than that of your playmates. 
He is continually trying to get you to com- 
pare yourself with others, and tells you that 
you are better than they. Indeed we have 
known cases that when little girls received 
new hats or dresses, it made them vain. 
The devil sometimes makes little girls think 
they are better dressed than others, and thus 
the spirit of pride is awakened in their little 
hearts. Even a prize won at a school or in 



FOKT HUMILITY. 59 

a contest, is an occasion of which the devil 
often takes advantage to whisper such 
thoughts as these in the ear, " You are 
smart. No one else could have obtained the 
prize." With such thoughts comes the 
feeling of importance and haughtiness. It 
requires a great struggle sometimes to main- 
tain the spirit of humility. We must con- 
tinually think of our faults and shortcom- 
ings, and of what God requires from us in 
His Holy Word. This will fill us with a 
sense of our own unworthiness, and will 
humble us. 



CHAPTER V 



Fort Patience. 



Well, my dear children, I am glad to see 
you here so prompt this evening. You 
seem to be interested in our talk on the 
subject of " Hold the Fort/' Can you re- 
member what our subject was last evening ? 

All, '' Fort Humility." 

How many held the fort since last even- 
ing? 

All exclaimed, " I did." 

Well, little Amy, how did you hold the 
Fort of Humility ? 

'' I was at school to-day with my brand 
new dress which the teacher said was pretty, 
and I did not feel proud at all. I just 
played and talked with the other little girls 
who cannot dress so well because their par- 
ents are poor. I did not think about my 



FOKT PATIENCE. 61 

dress at all, I thought only about how I 
might make my little schoolmates happy. 
Indeed I love them and always speak to 
them. They are such good little girls and 
know how to behave." 

Well, Amy, I am glad that you know 
that it is not the dress that makes beauty. 
" Pretty is that pretty does.'' It is true 
there is a saying that feathers make the 
bird, but they do not make the singer. So 
clothes may make a good outward appear- 
ance, but they cannot make the character. 
And that person who is proud on account 
of a new dress is both vain and silly. 

Well, David, how did you hold Fort Hu- 
mility ? 

" Well, grandpa, at school I spelled two 
words which were missed by others, and I 
passed to the head of the spelling class. I 
felt good that I had spelled two words which 
the others missed, and that I now stood at 
the head of the class. But when the teacher 
said that it was the first time in three weeks 
that I was at the head of the class, I then 



62 HOLD THE FOET. 

felt that I was not so very smart after all. 
Indeed I thought of how often others had 
spelled words that I missed. I then began 
to feel that I ought to be ashamed of myself 
for not being at the head of the class more 
than once in three weeks. I felt that I was 
not much after all. I suppose this was a 
feeling of humility." 

You are right, my little boy. You felt 
humbled. Now I will tell you what made 
you feel humble. It was not your getting 
at the head of your class. No, not that ex- 
actly, but it was the recollection that you 
missed so often and only got head once in 
three weeks. Yes, the remembrance of our 
shortcomings will keep us humble. 

And Charity, how did you hold Fort Hu- 
mility ? 

" I was required to speak a piece this 
afternoon at school before all the scholars 
and the visitors present. I dreaded it very 
much. And, before I went to school, I 
went into my room and prayed that God 
would give me courage to speak my piece. 



FORT PATIENCE. 63 

I then went to school and felt that God 
would help me recite as He had on former 
occasions. I did not then dread that duty. 
When I was called upon to recite, I did 
not mind it at all, and the teacher and vis- 
itors said I did nicely. And, although they 
all praised me, I did not feel proud or feel 
that I was smart, because I remembered 
how much I had dreaded the task and how 
God had helped me in answer to my prayer. 
I felt that God should have the credit and 
praise instead of myself And when I re- 
turned home I went to my room and knelt 
down by my bed and thanked God for help- 
ing me. I felt happy, not because I recited 
my piece so well, but because God had given 
me courage and helped me." 

You certainly experienced true Christian 
humility. If we all would remember that 
our blessings are from God, we would give 
Him the credit instead of taking it to our- 
selves. That is just what the apostle means 
when he says, " By the grace of God I am 
what I am." 1 Cor. 15 : 10. Your expe- 



64 HOLD THE FOKT. 

rience in reciting before the school has been 
my experience in public prayer. I have 
learned that God is my best helper in every 
time of need. To daily live a life of depen- 
dence on God is a broken and contrite heart 
which God will not despise. 

Now, children, I am glad that you are 
learning to hold the Fort of Humility. 
Never forget your true pattern who said^ 
" Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; 
for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye 
shall find rest unto your souls." Matth. 
11: 29. 

The topic which I have chosen for this^ 
evening is Fort Patience. Patience is a 
great principle of the Christian religion. 
It is one of the strongholds of Christ's king- 
dom. While all are called upon to hold 
Fort Honesty and Fort Truth, a certain 
class are called upon to hold this fort. 
Whom do you think the Great Captain calls 
upon to hold this fort ? 

" I suppose the strong and able bodied 
men and women. Those who have a con- 



FORT PATIENCE. Q5 

stitution to endure all kinds of hardships/' 
responded Charity. 

No, my dear child. God calls upon those 
who are supposed by some to be of no use, 
to defend this stronghold of His kingdom. 
In this fort He has placed all the sick boys 
and girls, the lame and the blind, the deaf 
and the dumb, those who have great bur- 
dens, troubles and sorrows. Yes, He has 
placed in this fort all the aged fathers and 
mothers who are supposed to be worn out. 

^^ That must be a strange-looking garri- 
son, if the sick, lame, halt, blind and the 
old people are in it," exclaimed David. 

" It would seem more like a hospital or 
an asylum. I wonder of what use such 
soldiers would be to hold a fort?" said 
Charity. 

The very persons whom people think 
could accomplish nothing, God makes use 
of to accomplish His purposes. And I will 
try to show you that a sick or blind boy or 
girl often makes one of the best soldiers for 
Christ, and that old, wornout people are 
often great defenders of Christ's kingdom. 



66 HOLD THE FOET. 

I have in mind a little girl whom we will 
call Carrie. She has been afflicted since she 
was six years old. It is probable that she 
never will get well, as her spine was injured 
by an accident. She sits up most of the 
time in her invalid chair, in which she can 
be pushed about in the room. In summer 
she is often taken out into the yard under the 
shade trees. While her associates can run 
and skip and play in the full enjoyment of 
freedom and health, poor Carrie is confined 
to her chair. She never complains of her 
hard lot, but seems to be fully resigned to 
the will of her heavenly Father. Although 
afflicted so much, without any prospect of 
recovery, she seems so calm, resigned and 
heavenly-minded that one cannot help but 
feel that in her soul there is joy, and peace, 
and happiness. She is a little heroine of 
patience. Like her suffering Savior, she 
bears her cross without murmuring. What 
a beautiful example to all suffering children. 
Those who complain so bitterly at little 
trials and crosses, should learn a lesson of 
patience and resignation from this little girl. 



FORT PATIENCE. 67 

Yes, that little sick girl is a good soldier 
of the cross, and does much toward defending 
and maintaining the principle of Christian 
patience. A religion that will make one so 
happy in sickness must be worth having. 
And a young Christian that can exercise so 
much patience must be a good soldier. We 
often wonder why God would allow a girl 
so young to be thus afflicted. But, however 
much we may consider her life rendered 
useless, we know that God has a great mis- 
sion for her, and that mission is to exercise 
patience and declare that there is a reality 
in the Christian religion. She thus became 
a true witness for Christ. 

You have all heard of Mr. Johnson, the 
blind man. Once he could see as well as 
any of you, but he lost his sight. It seems 
very hard to be blind, and not able to see 
the world of beauty with which we are sur- 
rounded, nor to look upon the face of our 
friends. In addition to this, he had a family 
who are dependent upon him. Indeed the 
future must appear as dark to him as the 



68 HOLD THE FORT. 

natural world is. If any one has reason to 
complain, he certainly has. Think of his 
great deprivation in being shut out of the 
world by his total blindness, and of the great 
helplessness in providing a livelihood for 
his family. Nor have we any reason to 
suppose that his blindness was sent directly 
upon him for some personal sin. We read 
in the Bible that Zedekiah had his eyes put 
out as a punishment for his disloyalty. But 
there evidently was no such direct cause in 
this case. We may say that all natural 
affliction is caused by original sin. And 
while God permits these afflictions to befall 
the children of men, He overrules them for 
the good of his own people. 

Now when blindness, which is one of the 
greatest calamities that can befall man, 
comes upon the child of God, He does not 
say to such an unfortunate creature : " You 
are now blind. Sit down and lament your 
hard fate. Think only of your misery and 
the darkness to which it has banished you. 
Be unhappy and spend all your days in 



FOET PATIENCE. 69 

mourning. Fold your hands, for there is 
no work for a blind man to do." No. God 
does not address any such hopeless remarks 
to the blind. But He says, '' I have a great 
mission for you. I have a certain fort for 
you to hold — Fort Patience. You can do 
this better than the well and healthy man. 
I want you to be a witness to the world of 
My saving grace. I want you to show to 
the world that while all is dark without, all 
is light within ; that while all human help 
may be gone, there is an unseen almighty 
hand which sustains and supports you ; that 
while all is gloomy and cheerless without, all 
is bright and cheerful within. Yes, I want 
you to preach patience to your fellowmen — 
preach it by example as well as by precept." 
It does not seem a hard task for Mr. 
Johnson to exercise patience and bear his 
heavy cross without murmuring. His mind 
continually dwells upon such thoughts as 
these : I cannot see the natural world, but 
in the visions of my soul I have glimpses of 
the spiritual world, and will soon enter into 



70 HOLD THE FORT. 

that glory to which the apostle refers in 1 
Cor. 2:9," Eje hath not seen, nor ear 
heardj neither have entered into the heart 
of man, the things which God hath pre- 
pared for them that* love him." I shall 
soon see the heavenly city, with its golden 
streets and its pearly gates. I shall soon 
see the great white throne, the Tree of Life 
and the River of Life. It is true I cannot 
see the faces of my dear friends on earth, 
although I am assured of their heartfelt 
sympathies. But soon I shall look upon 
the face of my Redeemer in glory. I shall 
see there in glorious array the patriarchs, 
the prophets, the apostles and martyrs* 
Yes, I shall soon see the King in His glory, 
and my kinship in white. I know that I 
am blind and cannot support my family as 
I once did, but " I know whom I have be- 
lieved, and am persuaded that he is able to 
keep that which I have committed unto him 
against that day." 2 Tim. 1 : 12. I rely 
so entirely upon my God that I feel that a 
sparrow cannot fall to the ground without 



FOET PATIENCE. 71 

His notice, and that the very hairs of my 
head are all numbered. I feel that He will 
make all things work together for my good. 
Yes, He has promised never to leave or for- 
sake me. 

Were it not for this almighty Friend, I 
might indeed be unhappy and uneasy. But 
when I remember His ability and willing- 
ness to care for His dependent ones, I feel 
that He will keep me and mine in the hol- 
low of His hand and under the shadow of 
His wings. It is this thought that makes 
me feel so happy, that makes me look so 
cheerful, and that makes me so resigned to 
what some call a hard fate. 

Were it not for the grace of God, Mr. 
Johnson would be a very unfortunate man, ^ 
as well as a very unhappy man. Shut out 
from the world, he seems to live so much in 
communion with God. At times he seems 
to be holding communion with angels and 
the spirits of just men made perfect. Then 
again there seems to play upon his face a 



72 HOLD THE FORT. 

heavenly smile as if angelic music filled his 
soul. 

It is no unusual thing to hear persons 
who enjoy all their five senses say, " I wish 
I could have the sweet experience of joy, 
peace and contentment which this blind man 
possesses. It is true, he is poor in sight, 
but rich in grace." 

This poor blind man is a good soldier of 
the cross. He bears his great affliction 
meekly, and is a standing reproach to all 
those who, in the enjoyment of their senses, 
are continually complaining. He demon- 
strates to the world that it is not wealth, 
health or any natural gift that is the high- 
est blessing to man, but the religion of Jesus 
Christ. Yes^ it is this that is the true secret 
of that sweet resignation which we find 
among God's afflicted children. 

While the natural eye is the organ of 
vision to the body and can see only material 
objects, faith is the organ of vision to the 
soul, and it sees the unseen. Faith peers 
through the veil of sense and beholds spirit- 



FORT PATIENCE. 73 

ual things. It looks beyond this life to the 
life to come. It looks from earth to heaven 
and sees the 

" Sweet fields arrayed in living green, 
And rivers of delight." 

Having spiritual eyes, he beholds those 

things which are spiritual and eternal. 

" He climbs where Moses stood 
And views the landscape o'er.'* 

I must tell you about another good soldier 
in Fort Patience. It was old mother Stine. 
I was well acquainted with her. She suf- 
fered for many years with the distressing 
disease called asthma. This good mother 
trained up her family for the Lord, and 
while they were a comfort to her, she was 
herself an invalid for many years. I called 
to see her when she had a severe attack of 
asthma. I thought she would die in her 
struggle for breath. Poor in this world's 
goods and poor in body, as she was a mere 
skeleton and apparently dying, she ex- 
claimed in broken accents, " Bless the Lord, 
O my soul." I was astonished to see this 
6 



74 HOLD THE FORT. 

afflicted mother in Israel so cheerful and 
hear her exclaim, " Bless the Lord, O my 
soul." I wondered to myself, for what can 
she bless the Lord ? She was poor in this 
world's goods, poor in health, with no pros- 
pect of getting better. For a moment I was 
confounded, but then I remembered that 
she was a Christian woman — a child of God^ 
and that she was in j)OSsession of blessings 
which I could not see by my natural sense 
of vision. 

She rejoiced that she was a child of God, 
that her sins were pardoned, and that she 
would soon enter into that rest which re- 
maineth unto the people of God. She re- 
joiced that she could suffer with Christ, so 
that she might also reign with Him. She 
patiently bore her cross in anticipation of 
the crown of life. 

How faithfully did she hold the Fort of 
Patience. I often thought that she was one 
of God's most faithful servants. By her 
sweet submission she declared that one can 
be a happy Christian under the most un- 



FORT PATIENCE. 75 

favorable circumstances. She was thus a 
good example of Christian patience and res- 
ignation. She not only endured her suffer- 
ings patiently, but she patie;itly awaited her 
appointed time. 

Thus you see God looks mostly to the af- 
flicted — the halt and the blind, the sick and 
the aged and decrepit — to occupy and to 
hold Fort Patience. They have a great 
mission to perform in this y^orld in the in- 
terest of Christ's kingdom. Scores have 
been led to Christ through the silent preach- 
ing of Christian invalids. During the early 
persecutions of the Church not a few pagans 
were convicted and converted to Christian- 
ity by the patient suffering and death of the 
Christian martyrs. They felt that a religion 
that would enable its witnesses to suffer and 
die so resignedly must be genuine. Thus ' 
in a certain sense the blood of the martyrs 
became the seed of the Church. The ashes 
of the martyrs are like those of the Egyp- 
tian Phenix from which sprang a new life. 

What a standing reproof to the careless 
and indifferent are the good examples of 



76 HOLD THE FORT. 

God's afflicted children. If they are so re- 
signed and confiding in their affliction, 
should we not be so too ? If you should ever 
become an invalid or decrepit, do not think 
your work is done and there is nothing more 
for you to do. In the providence of God it 
may just be beginning. You may yet win 
the brightest laurels and achieve the great- 
est victory for the cause of Christ. 

Whenever God permits affliction to befall 
you in this life, be assured that He intends 
you to glorify Him in your affliction ; that, 
as a follower of Jesus Christ, you may re- 
flect His image and manifest His Spirit. 
Christ is no more on earth as He was at one 
time, but He is represented by His Spirit 
who dwells in the believer and is reflected 
by him. As Christ manifested the greatest 
resignation in His sufierings, so His true 
followers will manifest His Spirit in their 
afflictions. In this way they maintain this 
principle of Christ's kingdom, and hold the 
Fort of Patience. 

I believe that the afflicted and suffering 
Christians constitute the flower of Christ's 



FORT PATIENCE. 77 

army on earth. If we suffer with Him, we 
shall reign with Him. No cross, no crown. 
It is suffering here below, but rest above. 
How significant are the words of Kev. 7 : 
14, " These are they which came out of great 
tribulation, and have washed their robes^ 
and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb." There are many who have died 
for Christ's sake. Think of the thousands 
of martyrs of the first three centuries and 
during the Reformation. They, like true 
soldiers, died for the cause of their blessed 
Master. Like their Savior, they endured 
the cross, and have now entered upon their 
rich reward. 

Those, too, who in our day for the sake 
of their blessed Master deny themselves of 
pleasure and ease, and endure their suffer- 
ings patiently, belong to the great army of 
Christ and shall shine as the stars. In this 
world men who have the greatest wealth, 
best culture or education, or occupy the 
highest civil or social position, are the hu- 
man stars that shine the most. But in heaven 



78 HOLD THE FOET. 

those humble and patient Christians who 
suffered the most while on earth, become 
the brightest stars there. 

Now, children, I see that it is getting 
quite late, and we must close our interesting 
conversation. God willing, we will meet 
to-morrow evening and consider the subject 
of Fort Perseverance. 



CHAPTEE VI. 



Fort Perseverance. 



Good evening, my dear children. I am 
glad to see you present at our little meeting. 
One of the greatest pleasures that a grand- 
parent can have is the society of his grand- 
children, especially when they are interested 
in his conversation, as you seem to be. 

Now, children, before taking up the sub- 
ject for to-night, I would like to review our 
last evening's talk a little. What was our 
subject last evening ? 

All, " Fort Patience." 

Whom does God more especially call 
upon to defend this stronghold of His king- 
dom ? 

" The sick, the halt, the blind and the 
aged," exclaimed Walter. 

Does God ever call upon children to hold 
this fort ? 

All, " Yes." 



80 HOLD THE FORT. 

Can you remember any one who is pa- 
tient in affliction, or have any of you prac- 
ticed patience since last evening ? 

" Yes, grandpa, I did," said Amy. " You 
know Mr. Strong and his family visited us 
to-day. Well, it was pretty late when they 
came this forenoon, and that made dinner 
late, and I became very hungry. But when 
dinner was ready, mamma said I should 
wait, as there was not enough room for all. 
I was so hungry and felt very much disap- 
pointed. At first I felt something coming 
up my throat, and I had to swallow and 
swallow to keep it down. And my cheeks 
became red, and tears started in my eyes. 
I was just beginning to think hard toward 
my mamma, when all at once something 
said, ' Hold the Fort — you must be patient, 
and all will be right.' I tjien began to feel 
happy, and I forgot that I was hungry, I 
felt that poor tired mamma was doing the 
best she could under the circumstances, and 
I did not feel cross at all. I smiled, and 
talked and laughed as if nothing were the 
matter." 



FOKT PEESEVERAlSrCE. 81 

Well, my little daughter, I am glad that 
you were able to hold the Fort of Patience, 
that you did not lose the control of your 
temper. What a silly thing it is for chil- 
dren to get cross because their parents some- 
times require them to wait until strangers 
have eaten. I have no doubt that it cost 
you a great struggle, but you triumphed 
over self and selfishness at last. You, like 
a true little hero, held the Fort of Patience. 
Solomon says in Prov. 16 : 32, " He that is 
slow to anger is better than the mighty : 
and he that ruleth his spirit than he that 
taketh a city." 

Well, David, was your patience tried to- 
day? 

" Yes,'' replied David. " Our pigs broke 
out, and I had such a time to get them back 
into their pen. I have often heard that an 
ox was dumb, but I believe that pigs are 
both dumb and stubborn. I could not head 
them off. They were bound to go where I 
did not want them to go. I never had such 
a time in my life. Many a boy would have 



82 HOLD THE FOKT. 

sworn and become raying mad. But I was 
thinking of what you had said on the sub- 
ject of patience, and I tried hard to keep 
cool and not get cross. But I had to strug- 
gle hard. I then thought what is the use 
of becoming impatient. My impatience 
would not naake the pigs any better, nor 
would it make it easier to get them into the 
pen. I began to think, too, that the pigs 
had been confined to their pen so long that 
they had become tired of their close confine- 
ment and were now enjoying their liberty. 
Then I did not blame them so much for not 
wanting to be penned up again. These 
thoughts enabled me to take the matter 
more co.olly, and I exercised a little patience 
and I then soon got them in. It seemed 
that whenever I became impatient, the pigs 
became more stubborn." 

Dear children, I believe that the dumb 
brutes are not so dumb as we think they 
are, and that often they are made bad by 
bad treatment. A bad driver may spoil the 
best team. I believe that a dog, cow or 



FORT PEESEVERANCE. 83 

liorse may be made bad by the cruelty of 
his master. When a man is angry and loses 
the control of his temper, he is not fit to 
discipline a child or manage a cow or horse. 
I know a young minister who cured a young 
balky horse by kindness and patience. This 
horse was the gift of his father and had a 
number of balky fits. When the horse 
balked, this good brother, instead of clubbing 
it, or building a fire under it, or tying a pack 
of firecrackers to its tail and setting them on 
fire, simply exercised patience and waited 
till the horse was ready to start. He was 
frequently obliged thus to wait on the high- 
way, sometimes being accompanied by his 
estimable lady, but patience finally gained 
the victory. If I mistake not, he now 
has an excellent horse which cheerfully 
obeys him. 

Well, children, your experience is good, 
and I am glad that you appreciate my in- 
struction and are trying to put it into prac- 
tice. Let us now proceed to the topic for 
this evening, which is Fort Perseverance. 



84 HOLD THE FORT. 

God wants every one to hold this fort. He 
has a mission for every one, and it is only 
by exercising this principle that one may 
hope to succeed. It requires no effort for 
water to flow down stream. So it requires 
no effort to sin. If one simply follows his 
evil inclinations, he can sin with the greatest 
ease. All that one needs to do is to drift 
with the current — the broad way that lead- 
eth to destruction in which the many go. 
But to lead a good life, a sinless life, one 
must not drift with the current, but must 
row against it. The moment he ceases to 
row, he drifts down the current. It is only 
by persevering that he can ascend the stream 
and at last reach the proper landing. If a 
boy wishes to learn a trade, he must perse- 
vere. Our Savior thus learned the carpenter 
trade. The boy that would become a schol- 
ar, must persevere in his studies. He dare 
not become discouraged or give up. There 
are hard lessons to be mastered, difficult 
problems to be solved, and scores of knotty 
questions to be investigated and unravelled. 



FORT PEElSEVERANCE. 85 

The hill of science is rugged and as difl&cult 
to ascend as Lookout Mountain, but perse- 
verance and faith will surmount it. 

So it is in overcoming bad habits. We 
must persevere. Bad habits are like weeds 
which can be destroyed only by perseverance. 
The plantain is a familiar pest. It seems to 
intrude itself into every yard and lawn. It 
requires much perseverance, as well as 
watchfulness, to extract it and keep it in 
subjection. The Canada thistle is another 
great pest. The legislature has hurled its 
-anathema against it. But it will require 
perseverance on the part of both the legis- 
lature and the yoemanry of our land to beat 
back the intruder. 

So it requires persevering effort to over- 
come bad habits and bad inclinations. 
When one becomes a Christian, the Christ 
nature will militate against human nature, 
or, as Paul expresses it in Gal. 5 : 17, ^' The 
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit 
against the flesh : and these are contrary the 
one to the other ; so that ye cannot do the 



86 HOLD THE FORT. 

things that ye would." This is nothing 
more than the divine leaven leavening our 
nature and bringing it into subjection to the 
kingdom of Christ. Nor is the spirit always 
victorious in these struggles. At times vic- 
tory seems to incline toward the flesh. In 
the civil war there were times when the 
Confederates defeated the Federals, but the 
final result was favorable to the latter ; so it 
is in our spiritual conflicts. Paul expresses^ 
these reverses of the Christian life in Rom. 
7 : 22, 23, " For I delight in the law of God 
after the inward man : But I see another 
law in my members, warring against the 
law of my mind, and bringing me into cap- 
tivity to, the law of sin which is in my mem- 
bers." It is the Christian who perseveres 
in the divine life to the end that will suc- 
ceed. The promise to such is, " Be thou 
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a 
crown of life." Rev. 2 : 10. Hence Paul 
(Heb. 10: 23) exhorts us in these words^ 
" Let us hold fast the profession of our faith 
without wavering." 



FORT PEESEYERANCE. 87 

Religion is a race, the beginning is not 
the end ; it is a warfare, the battle begun is 
not the victory ; it is a life, but the begin- 
ning of that life is not its completion. Many 
commence the Christian life, but tney do not 
continue steadfast unto the end. " When 
tribulation or persecution ariseth because of 
the word, by and by he is offended." Matth. 
13 : 21. Again we read, " Ye did run well : 
who did hinder you that ye should not obey 
the truth ?" Gal. 5 : 7. The brick-layer by 
persevering in laying up one brick upon 
another, finally succeeds in the completion 
of the house. So it is in the formation of 
character. This is not obtained all at once 
as a mere gift. But it is something that we 
must build up as a child builds a block-house. 
Character is formed of good habits and ac- 
quired qualities. We build up a character 
by adding one good habit to another. We 
ought to be continually adding to our char- 
acter. This is being transformed more and 
more into the image of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. It is an old saying, Rome was not 



88 HOLD THE FOKT. 

built in one day. So no great and good 
character was built up in one day. But 
it requires perseverance. The mason may 
have a large boulder to split. He strikes it 
with his hammer continuously, one blow 
after another ; at last it gives way. It was 
not one blow that split the rock, but a num- 
ber of blows. So it is line upon line, pre- 
cept upon precept, here a little and there a 
little, that finally triumphs over the stony 
heart. 

When the sculptor is making a statue out 
of a rough piece of marble, it requires many 
blows, much scraping and touching up here 
and there to form the life-like image. So 
the boy who perseveres with his studies, will 
become a scholar. The girl who perseveres 
with her music, will become a musician. 
And the apprentice who perseveres will 
become master of his trade. In like manner 
only will the Christian succeed in winning 
the prize, and obtain the crown of everlasting 
life. There is such a doctrine as " the per- 
severance of saints.'' God will give His 



FOKT PERSEVERAi^CE. 89 

children grace to persevere if they will only 
use the right means. 

There is a false way of persevering. Two 
persons go to the North Mountain to pick 
huckleberries. The one perseveres in roam- 
ing over the mountain and picking here and 
there. As a rolling stone gathers no moss, 
so he gathers but few berries. The other 
person travels over less ground, picks per- 
se veringly where there are berries, and at the 
close of the day is less weary and has many 
more berries. And what is better still, he 
has cultivated the habit of concentration and 
sticking to one thing and place at a time. 

So it is in the religious life. I have in 
mind two boys. The oxie on Sabbath will 
run from one Sabbath school to another, 
and from one church to another. He has 
thus acquired the habit of rambling about. 
He is gone from home on Sunday the whole 
day. He believes in union Sunday schools 
and union churches. He thinks we ought 
to patronize all Sunday schools and all 
churches alike. He is a sort of " religious 

. 7 



90 HOLD THE FORT. 

gad-about." He spends few, if any, hours 
at home on Sabbath, but perseveres in run- 
ning from one Sunday school to another,, 
and from one church to another. The result 
is that he is acquiring the habit of instabil- 
ity and restlessness, and is becoming sensa- 
tional. He is becoming religiously dissi- 
pated. He has little or no influence, and is 
gathering little or no moral strength. He 
is driven about by every wind of doctrine 
and readily falls in with every new and un- 
tried method. His vacillating disposition 
or habit is seen in all he does or undertakes. 
He dabbles in everything and does not pur- 
sue any one thing in particular. He is 
practically a failure on the farm, in the store, 
in the workshop, in the Sunday school and 
in the Church. Truly "a doubleminded 
man is unstable in all his ways." James 1 : 
8. He is, in business and religion, a nui- 
sance. 

The other young man attends regularly 
but one Sunday school. He throws his 
energies into that He is loyal to one branch 



FORT PERSEVERANCE. 91 

of the Church of Christ and concentrates 
his labors there. He has charity for other 
branches of the Church and attends them 
as occasion may require. But he recognizes 
his own church as his spiritual home where 
he should be found at all its regular ser- 
vices. He believes that every sheep should 
belong only to one fold and one shepherd. 
He does not try to spread himself over two 
or three Sunday schools and churches. He 
believes that one pasture field is large enough 
for him, that one Sunday school is sufficient 
to develop and employ his energies in Sab- 
bath school work, and that one pastor is 
sufficient to be his spiritual shepherd. This 
concentration of energy and interest makes 
him a man of influence and a successful 
worker in the Sabbath school and Church. 
Many of the most important and benefi- 
cial discoveries have been effected by perse- 
verance. The greatest inventions of man- 
kind required much patience and persever- 
ance. And the apos'tle exhorts us, " Let us 
not be weary in well doing : for in due sea- 



92 HOLD THE FORT. 

son we shall reap, if we faint not.'' Gal. 6 : 
9. While many start out in the Christian 
journey, which certainly is a good step, not 
all continue in that journey. Not a few be- 
come weary of well doing and give up the 
race ere the goal is reached. In the case of 
a few who entered upon the Christian life, 
I have seen great zeal manifested at first, 
but it did not continue long. 

Some are religious while they are in a 
religious atmosphere or surrounded by a re- 
ligious element. But just as soon as they 
are taken from the Sunday school or church 
influence, or leave the neighborhood in 
which they were brought up, they seem to 
lose all interest in religion. Such are not 
sufiiciently grounded and rooted in the doc- 
trine and principles of the Christian relig- 
ion. In speaking of one belonging to this 
class, the Savior says, " Yet hath he not root 
in himself, but dureth for a while." Matth. 
13: 21. This religion is artificial. Instead 
of proceeding from a principle within, it is 
only the creature of external influence, and 



FORT PERSEVERANCE. 93 

when that influence is withdrawn, the re- 
ligion vanishes. Thus after the death of 
Jehoida, Joash fell into idolatry. We want 
our sons and daughters not to be made the 
passive subjects of an external religion, but 
the active subjects of an internal religion. 
It is Christ in the soul that is " a well of 
water springing up into everlasting life."' 
John 4 : 14. The lack of perseverance is 
often the lack of a new heart. Too many 
are like some of the Indians who were 
brought to the Indian school at Carlisle. 
While under the influence of education and 
civilization, they appeared to be civilized, 
but as soon as they passed out of this ele- 
ment and returned to their uncivilized peo- 
ple, they returned to tKeir former uncivil- 
ized state. With such there is no stability 
of character. " They have no root in them.'' 
How very important it is that people be 
thoroughly indoctrinated in the principles 
of the Christian religion, so that they may 
know what to believe and lead lives proceed- 
ing from faith in Christ and His Word, and 



94 HOLD THE FOET. 

not from anything that is merely external. 
Concerning some we read in 2 Peter 2 : 22, 
^' It is happened nnto them according to the 
trne proverb, The dog is tnrned to his own 
Yomit again ; and. The sow that was washed 
to her wallowing in the mire." So it mat- 
ters not how high religious fervor may be 
worked up, it will not stand unless there is 
a change of heart and sentiment which God's 
Spirit and truth only can effect in the soul. 

If you would therefore persevere in a re- 
ligious life, it is necessary to start right — 
with a new heart. Let your prayer ever 
be, " Create in me a clean heart, O God ; 
and renew a right spirit within me." Ps. 
51 : 10. You may send a ball by an ex- 
ternal power, but when its force is spent, it 
stops. It has no inherent power to go on, 
but a bird has power within itself to propel 
itself on. 

Sometimes I have observed young men 
in their single days very regular in their 
attendance at Sunday school and public 
worship. Scarcely ever do they miss an 



FORT PEESEVERAISrCE. 95 

appointment. But their hearts are not al- 
ways set upon Christ and His statutes, but 
sometimes upon some person. They are 
attentive, because those to whom they are 
devoted are attentive. We too often con- 
clude that if young people are devoted to 
the Sunday school and church before mar- 
riage, they certainly will be after marriage. 
But in not a few cases we have been doomed 
to disappointment. No sooner is the " honey 
moon" passed and the newly married couple 
settled down in life, than we observe a slack- 
ing up in their attendance. In most cases 
it is not the fault of the wife, but of the 
husband. He now seems to be less interest- 
■ed in church-going, and by degrees soon be- 
comes only an occasional attendant. Why 
is this lack in Sunday school and church- 
going ? Ah, it is plain. Once he attended 
with an object in view, the wooing and se- 
curing of his bride ; now, as this object has 
been gained, the Sunday school and church 
have no charm for him. 

While the Sunday school and the church 
are certainly the best places to find a good 



96 HOLD THE FOET. 

companion, we should not make this the high- 
est and only object. Our primary object in 
attending such places should be the honor 
and glory of Christ, and the salvation of the 
soul. And we should allow wooing and 
courtship as incidental to these higher in- 
terests. Nothing is so lovely and loving as 
two pious hearts walking together to the 
sanctuary of God. Their communion must 
be sweet and heavenly. But why not con- 
tinue that heavenly journey through mar- 
ried life ? If they together walked in single 
blessedness and innocency, should they not 
in wedded life as sincere worshippers kneel 
at the same shrine, and after this life to- 
gether walk the golden streets of the New 
Jerusalem which is above ? What is more 
beautiful than a young Christian home sanc- 
tified by Christian grace. Oh, think of this, 
my dear children. Be sure to carry your 
religion with you wherever you go and into 
whatever relation you form. Many a poor 
neglected wife exclaims with bitter feelings, 
" John, you used to go with me to the 



FORT PERSEVERANCE. 97 

church. Why do you refuse to do so now ? 
Do you love me less now ?'' If I pity a 
woman next to a drunkard's wife, it is that 
Christian woman who has a heathen for her 
husband. What comfort can such a cold- 
hearted man be to her ? He has no sym- 
pathy or interest in that which is most sacred 
to her. But that woman is to be congratu- 
lated who has a pious and religious husband 
— a man who fears and serves the Lord. 

He may be a poor man and obliged to eat 
hia bread in the sweat of his face, but he 
has sentiments, sympathies and a spirit that 
are in harmony with hers. They read out 
of the same Bible ; kneel at the same altar, 
and are moved by the same spirit. Per- 
sons seeking companions for life cannot be 
too careful in heeding the admonition of 
Paul, " Be ye not unequally yoked together 
with unbelievers : for what fellowship hath 
righteousness with unrighteousness ? and 
what communion hath light with darkness ?" 
2 Cor. 6 : 14. 

Again, many young people make a pro- 
fession of religion and seem to be sincere, 



98 HOLD THE FORT. 

but when they enter ujDon the stern realities 
of life and great responsibilities rest upon 
their shoulders, they sometimes become so 
absorbed with their daily duties and cares 
as to lose their former interest in religion, 
and by degrees they sink into worldliness. 
As their hands become callous, their hearts 
also become hard. Our Savior refers to 
this class in His parable of the sower. " He 
also that received seed among the thorns is 
he that heareth the word ; and the cares of 
this world, and the deceitfulness of riches 
choke the word, and he becometh unfruit- 
ful." Matth. 13 : 22. As the children of 
Israel easily fell into idolatry, so it is easy 
sometimes for professing Christians to fall 
into the idolatry of this world. The human 
mind is carnal and easily pursues carnal 
things. To check this tendency of the hu- 
man heart, which is so common, our Savior 
asks the important question, '^' What shall 
it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole 
world, and lose his own soul ? Or what fehall 
a man give in exchange for his soul ?" 



FORT PERSEYERAIS^CE. 99 

Mark 8 : 36, 37. This perverted tendency 
of human nature has led many into the love 
and worship of riches, which is almost cer- 
tain to insure the loss of the soul. " Chil- 
dren, how hard is it for them that trust in 
riches to enter into the kingdom of God ! 
It is easier for a camel to go through the 
eye of a needle, than for a rich man to en- 
ter into the kingdom of God." Mark 10 : 
24, 25. How important it is that we heed 
the solemn admonition of Paul to Timothy, 
" They that will be rich fall into temptation 
and a snare, and into many foolish and 
hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruc- 
tion and perdition. For the love of money 
is the root of all evil ; which while some 
coveted after, they have erred from the 
faith, and pierced themselves through with 
many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, 
flee these things ; and follow after righteous- 
ness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meek- 
ness." 1 Tim. 6 : 9, 10, 11. Many young 
people make a profession of religion and 
seem to start out well, but they are soon led 



100 HOLD THE FOKT. 

astray by the vanities and pleasures of this 
world. While the religion of Jesus Christ 
does not countenance sinful pleasures, it 
does not deprive its subjects from lawful 
pleasures. On the contrary, it affords them 
the highest order of pleasure — that in which 
God and the good delight. Solomon, speak- 
ing of divine wisdom, says, " Her ways are 
ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are 
peace." Prov. 3 : 17. 

David says, " A day in thy courts is bet- 
ter than a thousand. I had rather be a 
doorkeeper in the house of my God than to 
dwell in the tents of wickedness." Ps. 84 : 
10. The religion of Jesus Christ affords 
the highest intellectual, social and spiritual 
pleasure. There is something grand and 
beautiful in holding communion with God, 
in the study of His Holy Word, and in the 
fellowship of saints. If drinking at the 
stream of human knowledge is pleasant, 
what must be the pleasure in going to the 
Fountain Head of all wisdom. Concerning 
the truly blessed man, David says, " His 



FORT PERSEVEEANCE. 101 

delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in 
His law doth he meditate day and night. 
And he shall be like a tree planted by the 
rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit 
in his season : his leaf also shall not wither ; 
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." 
Ps. 1 : 2, 3. There is something charming 
in the music of nature, but sacred music 
alone will lift the soul godward and heaven- 
ward, and inspire it with true devotion to 
its Maker. 

There is some real pleasure in communing 
with God. If the Queen ^ of Sheba exper- 
ienced pleasure in communing with Solo- 
mon of all that was in her heart (1 Kings 
10 : 2) , what must be the pleasure of com- 
muning of all that is in our hearts with One 
who is greater than Solomon. Too many 
professed Christians whose hearts are not 
sufficiently sanctified by God's truth and 
Spirit, are often led astray by that which is 
apparently sinless pleasure. They seem to 
be unable to make the distinction between 
sinful and sinless pleasure — between harm- 



102 HOLD THE FORT. 

ful and harmless pleasure. Where these 
two classes of pleasure meet, they seem so 
near alike that their moral character is hard 
to detect. The Missouri and the Columbia 
Rivers take their origin on the Rocky 
Mountains. Their sources are so near to 
each other that a breath of rir consigns a 
falling drop to one or the other river. And 
yet how vastly diifferent their destinies. 
The one river empties into the calm Pacific 
and the other in the stormy Atlantic. So 
harmful and harmless pleasures seem nearly 
alike, but they flow in opposite directions 
and lead to vastly different destinies. The 
devil in his temptations assumes the appear- 
ance of an angel of light. He does not at 
first reveal his true character, or the true 
character of the pleasures he uses to beguile 
the unwary into a sinful path and life. 
The angler conceals the fatal hook beneath 
the seemingly delicious bait. So the devil 
uses pleasures that are apparently innocent 
and inoffensive to delude his victims. 

Playing cards without stakes is a pleas- 
ant game. It is apparently no crime. The 



FOET PEESEYERAJ^CE. 103 

taste for card playing is fostered. It be- 
comes a great pleasure. Reputation is at 
first put up, then some article of value, and 
gambling is the result There is apparently 
no harm in tripping the floor at a social 
gathering. The taste is fostered. It be- 
comes a great pleasure. It is no longer 
confined to the social gathering. Next 
comes the dancing hall and then the balL 
Many a promising church member has been 
drawn away from Christ and the Church 
and the society of the good by this alluring 
process. As church members become in- 
terested in the dance, they lose interest in 
the Church and religion generally. And 
in not a few instances they wreck their im- 
mortal souls. 

It is in the same way that the devil makes 
drunkards. He first comes with tobacco. 
While this is a filthy habit, he denies that 
there is any moral wrong in it. Then comes 
in order the occasional social glass, and then 
the regular glass, and finally the habitual 
drunkenness, which is followed by misery, 
woe and death. 



104 HOLD THE FOHT. 

Children, if you would persevere in a 
godly life, you must learn the difference be- 
tween innocent and sinful pleasures, the 
good and the eyil. How solemn the warn- 
ing of the prophet, '^ Woe unto them that 
call evil good, and good evil ; that put dark- 
ness for light, and light for darkness ; that 
put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.'' 
Isa. 5 : 20. May every one of you be able 
to say, '' Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, 
and a light unto my path." Ps. 119: 105. 

Some start out well in the religious life, 
but they tire and become weary in well 
doing. They do not regard the exhortation 
of Paul, '^ And let us not be weary in well 
doing ; for in due season we shall reap, if 
we faint not." Gal. 6:9. I believe there 
is such a thing as spending our religious 
force. The engine will soon spend its force, 
if it is not replenished with new fuel. The 
horse will soon become weak, if not fed. 
And man will soon physically become feeble, 
if he does not regularly partake of food. 
In like manner our spiritual life and 



FORT PERSEVERANCE. 105 

strength must be sustained — nourished and 
renewed. This is effected by the use of the 
means of grace as the study of God's Word, 
prayer and the use of the sacraments. Our 
Savior said to satan, " Man shall not live by 
bread alone, but by every word that pro- 
ceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matth. 
4:4. As our material bodies are nour- 
ished by food, so our souls are nourished by 
the Word of God. Prayer is a means of 
communion with God and of securing His 
blessings. Prayer is a grace-bearing ordi- 
nance. When Luther had some important 
task to perform, he was accustomed to say, 
" I cannot get through with this task with 
less than three hours of prayer." And our 
Savior said to His disciples, " Without me 
ye can do nothing." John 15 : 5. 

The Christian life is not one of ease, but 
of activity. It requires exertion. It is a 
race to run, and a warfare. The Christian 
is exhorted to diligence in these terms : 
" Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it 
with thy might ; for there is no work, nor 
8 



106 HOLD THE FOET. 

device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the 
grave, whither thou goest." Ecc. 9 : 10. 
" Work out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling : For it is God which work- 
eth in you both to will and to do of his good 
pleasure.'' Phil. 2 : 12, 13. But we must 
remember that God works in us through the 
means of grace. We must use these means 
as the study of His Word, prayer and acts 
of worship. This is the condition of God 
working in us to do His pleasure, or of fur- 
nishing us with the grace to persevere. 

Against the church in Sardis the angel 
wrote, " I know thy works, that thou hast a 
name that thou livest, and art dead." Rev. 
3 : 1. That church undoubtedly was never 
alive, or else being alive once, it permitted 
itself to die through the neglect of the use 
of the necessary means. 

As it is getting late, we will adjourn and 
resume our pleasant conversation to-morrow 
evening, God willing. I hope you will not 
forget the subject of this evening's conver- 
sation. It is of the greatest importance that 



FORT PERSEVERANCE. 107 

a young Christian perseveres in his relig- 
ious duties. 

Good night, my dear children. Do not 
forget to say your prayers and ask God's 
blessing upon one another. Do not forget 
your parents and your grandfather in your 
prayers. 



CHAPTEK VII. 



Fort Kindness. 



Well, children, it seems that you are be- 
coming every night more interested in our 
conversation. Before we proceed to the 
topic for this evening, we will have a little 
experience meeting. We will allow you to 
give your experience on our last subject, 
which was Perseverance. 

David said, " This morning papa told me 
to plaster the corn. 1 did not do like a boy 
who plastered the ends of the rows and left 
his father under the impression that he plas- 
tered the whole field. But I went right 
through from one end of the rows to the 
other, and I persevered until the whole field 
of corn was plastered." 

That was right, my boy. You held the 
fort by persevering in your task until it was 
accomplished. 



FOET KINDJ^ESS. 109 

And Amy, in what did you persevere to- 
day? 

^' Well, grandpa/' said Amy, " I wanted 
to go to our neighbors to-day where they 
have a little girl. I asked mamma to let 
me go, but she thought I had better stay at 
home. So I continued asking permission 
to go, and I gave her no rest until she let 
me go." 

Well, Amy, that was perseverance indeed, 
but not the right kind of perseverance. Paul 
says, " Children, obey your parents in the 
Lord : for this is right." Eph. 6 : 1. Your 
perseverance was disobedience. I fear„ it 
was in the cause of satan and not in the in- 
terest of your parents, much less in the in- 
terest of God. There is such a thing as 
fighting against God, Christ wants us to 
persevere only in what is right. Solomon 
says, " There is a way which seemeth right 
unto a man : but the end thereof are the 
ways of death." Prov. 14 : 12. 

I have often seen children persevere in 
what was wrong and foolish. Be sure that 



110 HOLD THE FOKT. 

instead of fighting on the Lord's side, you 
do not fight against Him. We are to per- 
severe in that only which is right, and not 
in that which is wrong. 

And Walter, in what did you persevere 
to-day ? 

" I persevered in doing my duties. Papa 
told me a number of things that he wanted 
me to do, as digging garden, planting cab- 
bage, cutting wood, and going to the mill. 
As soon as I had performed one duty, I 
commenced another until my work for the 
day was finished." 

You were indeed persevering. You cer- 
tainly carried out Paul's instruction, " Be 
not slothful in business." Pom. 12: 11. 
This is the kind of perseverance that is re- 
quired in living a Christian life. We are 
not to persevere in a few duties only, but in 
all duties, those of less importance as well 
as those of greater importance. I am glad 
that you are trying to practice what you 
hear. 

Now let us consider the subject for this 



FOKT KINDNESS. Ill 

evening — Fort Kindness. One of the prin- 
ciples of the Christian religion is kindness. 
'' Be kindly affectioned one to another with 
brotherly love ; in honor preferring one 
another.'' Rom. 12 : 10. " Blessed are 
the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy." 
Matth. 5 : 7. Now God wants all His chil- 
dren to be kind ; to protect and hold fast 
this great principle of His kingdom. Every 
boy and girl, man and woman, can help to 
defend this principle of the Christian relig- 
ion by being kind. This world is cold and 
selfish. In this world every one seems to 
be for himself. 

There are many in this world who feel 
friendless. No one seems to sympathize 
with them, to speak kindly to them, or do 
them any acts of kindness. Christ has 
taught us that kindness is a principle of His 
religion. We are to practice this Christian 
principle, and in so doing we counteract the 
selfishness of this wicked world. Christ in 
His own life gave us the best example of 
kindness. It is written of Him, " For ye 



112 HOLD THE FORT. 

know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes 
he became poor, that ye through his poverty 
might be rich." 2 Cor. 8 : 9. His whole 
life of suffering on earth was vicarious — the 
innocent for the guilty. " Surely he hath 
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.'^ 
" He was wounded for our transgressions, he 
was bruised for our iniquities : the chastise- 
ment of our peace was upon him ; and with 
his stripes we are healed." Is. 53 : 4, 5. 

Now, children, I can tell you a number 
of ways in which you can be kind. Learn 
to be kind at home to your parents. By 
doing what they command you to do, is only 
obedience. But by doing those favors which 
they do not ask, but which is a great help 
to them, is kindness. Thus to carry in wood 
when you see the wood-box empty, is kind- 
ness. To assist your mother without being 
asked at the wash tub, in the kitchen, and 
in keeping the house in order, is kindness. 
That girl who never voluntarily turns her 
hand to help her overburdened mother, but 



. FORT KINDNESS. 113 

thinks that she was born to be a lady and 
her mother a servant, that girl, I say, is 
unkind, cruel, and, I am almost tempted to 
say, a domestic nuisance. A kind daughter 
will be helpful to her mother. 

A son, too, can be kind to his father in 
many ways — by being ready to run errands, 
cutting wood, taking the cows to pasture, 
and by cheerfully helping his tired father 
do the chores. Thus kindness is shown in 
little acts done cheerfully. 

When your parents are starting out on a 
journey, bring your papa's cane, hat, arctics 
and assist him put on his overcoat. Bring 
your mamma's wraps and assist her to put 
them on. Try to make your parents com- 
fortable. Assist them into the carriage, 
and tuck in the robes, so that they may be 
comfortable. And as the carriage departs, 
express your good wishes for a pleasant 
journey, a happy time and a safe return. 
These are little things, but they are kind- 
nesses which your parents will highly appre- 
ciate. If your parents return by railroad, 



114 HOLD THE FORT. . 

it is kindness to meet them at the station. 
If they return by private conveyance, meet 
them at the gate. Help them to alight 
from the carriage, take care of the team and 
carry in their baggage. Help them to re- 
move their wraps, and, if it is cold, have a 
good fire. Manifest an interest in their 
comfort. Show by these little courtesies 
that you love your parents. Be kind to 
your associates. I know a boy whom every- 
body loved because he was kind to every 
one. He always had a smile an4 a kind 
word for every one whom he met ; it mat- 
tered not whether the person was a little 
boy or girl, an aged man or woman, rich or 
poor. He was so kind and cheerful that 
his very presence seemed to give warmth 
and sunshine to all. If he had an apple or 
orange, he was sure to divide it with his as- 
sociates. If he had a kite, they were allowed 
to fly it. If he had a ball and bat, they 
were invited to use them. When his father 
gave him a pair of skates, he often allowed 
those associates who had none to use them. 



FOET KINDNESS. 115 

If he met a person overburdened with lug- 
gage, he would offer his assistance. In win- 
ter he would often chop wood and make 
paths through the snow for the poor and 
aged. He indeed had a kind look, word 
and act for every one. 

While young, this boy was prostrated 
with a severe attack of fever which termi- 
nated fatally. It was no unusual thing to 
hear persons say, " He was too good to live." 
I do not feel like saying this of him, for the 
best of God's creatures on this earth come 
far short of His glory. But I know his 
funeral was largely attended. All present 
mingled their tears over the departure of 
one who was kind to all and was loved by all. 
That boy did much for his Master in mani- 
festing His spirit. He preached Christ in 
his kind looks, words and acts. He, like 
his divine Master, did much to cheer and 
comfort mankind in this cold and selfish 
world. Sweet is his blessed memory. His 
smiles, cheerful words and kind acts will 
not soon be forgotten. 



116 HOLD THE FORT. 

We all know the difference between a 
neighbor who is kind and obliging, and one 
who is selfish and unkind. The one feels 
concerned for others. He visits the sick, 
helps the poor, counsels the erring, lends to 
them that would borrow, and renders assis- 
tance to those who need it. He is a useful 
man in the neighborhood. He seems to 
live not so much for himself as for others. 
When such an one departs this life, the 
community feels that it has lost a true bene- 
factor, and many sincere tears of sorrow and 
grief are shed over his departure. All feel 
that a good man has gone to his eternal rest 
and reward. The memory of such a man 
lingers long in the mindsof those who knew 
him and loved him. - 

Not so with the selfish man. He is cold 
in his manners, cold in his looks, and cold 
in his greetings. He has no pleasant smile, 
no kind word, or good act for any one. He 
lives for himself alone and does not seem to 
be concerned for any one except for himself 
and his family. He neither visits the sick. 



FOET KINDIN^ESS. 117 

or aids the poor, or assists the overburdened. 
He is cold, selfish and narrow-minded. 
When he dies, the community does not feel 
that it has sustained any loss by his death. 
He is neither missed nor mourned over. 
The community needs no comfort as far as 
his death is concerned, but is rather to be 
congratulated, as the fewer of such citizens 
it has, the better off it is. The ofiiciating 
minister knows the people need no comfort, 
and hence offers them none ; but in lan- 
guage well understood, he urges the living to 
live unto Christ and minister to their fel- 
lowmen in love, and kindness and sympathy. 
The grave of this cold and selfish man is 
neglected by the living. He cared not for 
them when alive, and they are unmindful 
of him when dead. The most suitable epi- 
taph for his tombstone is, " He shall be 
buried with the burial of an ass." Jer. 
22 : 19. " Unwept, unhonored and un- 
sung." 

Now, children, I want you all to be kind. 
Be kind to the domestic animals : the cat. 



118 HOLD THE FOKT. 

dog, COW and horse. Be kind to one an- 
other, to your parents, to your playmates 
and to your neighbors. Kindness is a great 
principle of the Christian religion, and every 
child of God should faithfully cherish and 
practice it. Christ wants you all to hold 
this fort. As it is growing late, we will 
close our conversation for this evening, and 
I bid you all good night. 



CHAPTEK VIIL 



Fort Faith. 



Dear children, it is gratifying to meet you 
in this pleasant conference. I certainly 
enjoy the conversation ss much as you seem 
to do. How many put to practice the les- 
son taught last night ? (All hands go up.) 

Well, Amy, what act of kindness did you 
do? 

" I had a play dinner/' said Amy, " and 
I invited four of my little playmates, and I 
divided my little pie and cake with them. 
They enjoyed them so much, saying that 
they did not get such nice things at home.'' 

And David, what kind act did you do ? 

" I chopped some wood for old Mrs. Park." 

And Charity, what kind act did you do ? 

" I visited old blind Mrs. Smith and read 
the Bible to her." 

And Walter, what did you do to hold 
Fort Kindness ? 



120 HOLD THE FOET. 

" I gave a quarter of a dollar to help buy 
a horse for poor Mr. Cold, who lost his a 
few days ago/' 

Well, I am glad that you all can recall 
some noble act of kindness. Stand by this 
Christian principle and you will honor your 
blessed Master who in all kindness came to 
minister to mankind. 

The subject for this evening's conversa- 
tion is Fort Faith. This is a great princi- 
ple of the Christian religion. If you will 
read the 11th chapter of Paul to the He- 
brews, you will learn much of this Christian 
grace. " Without faith it is impossible to 
please God.'' Heb. 11 : 6. God wants us 
all to exercise faith and not cast away our 
confidence. 

There are many different kinds of faith ; 
but we may arrange them into two general 
classes : natural faith and religious faith. 

Natural faith is a principle common to 
all mankind and exercised by all. Tne 
artificer exercises this principle in the con- 
struction of a house. He first believes that 



FORT FAITH. 121 

he can build it and then acts upon his faith. 
There could be no invention without this 
same principle. The inventor first believes 
in his theory, and then reduces that theory 
to practice by constructing the required 
instrument. Columbus exercised this prin- 
ciple in the discovery of America. He 
believed that there was a country west, and 
then proceeded to discover it. The farmer 
exercises this faith in farming. He believes 
that if he plows and sows, he will receive a 
crop. Thus, too, the coinmon laborer exer- 
cises this same principle. He believes that 
if he labors for his employer, he will be 
compensated. In buying and in selling, we 
must exercise this faith in mankind. We 
make social and business engagements with 
one another upon the strength of our mutual 
confidence. Children are continually exer- 
cising this principle in the confidence they 
bestow upon their parents. 

Natural faith is the mainspring of human 
activity. Without it there could be no 
social engagements or business transactions. 
9 



122 HOLD THE FORT. 

In this event, every one would act for him- 
self alone. And this certainly would be a 
strange world if its inhabitants had no social 
or business relations. 

As natural faith is so essential to our well- 
being in this life, we should sacredly guard 
this great boon. We should be careful not 
to abuse the confidence that others have 
reposed in us, but prove ourselves worthy 
of it. Nor should we withhold our confi- 
dence in them. Thus the soldier should 
have confidence in his commander, the cli- 
ent in his attorney, the scholar in his teacher, 
the laborer in his employer, the servant in 
his master, and children in their parents. 
We should all hold on to this mutual confi- 
dence in mankind as the basis of all our 
social and business relations. 

But I wish to speak more especially about 
religious faith. It is sometimes called "^ sav- 
ing faith," evangelic faith and " precious 
faith.'' Like natural faith, in its nature it 
is confidence. It differs, however, from the 
former in its origin and objects. Its origin 



FORT FAITH. 123 

is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. 
" Faith Cometh by hearing, and hearing by 
the Word of God." Eom. 10: 17. In 
Gal. 5 : 22 we are told that one of the fruits 
of the spirit is faith. The Holy Spirit ac- 
companies God's Word, read or preached, 
enlightens the mind, and influences it to 
accept the revealed truth. The human 
mind is thus by the Holy Spirit influenced 
to confide in God, His promises, and His 
Son as the only Savior. Thus the same 
human mind that is active in natural faith, 
is led to move in another and higher sphere. 
In the one case the mind and heart move 
in the sphere of the natural and material 
world ; in the other case they move in the 
spiritual kingdom of grace, which Christ 
has establish'^d on earth for the salvation of 
mankind. 

Children, you cannot be too thankful for 
your pious parents. From early childhood, 
God's Word has been read and explained 
to you. It has been your privilege also to 
attend Sunday school and religious services 



124 HOLD THE FORT. 

in the sanctuary. You, too, have been 
made the subject of many prayers at home, 
in the Sunday school and church. These 
are divinely appointed means. The Holy 
Spirit through these means has enlightened 
your mind and by degrees you have accepted 
the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, and, I 
trust, you are now in possession of saving 
faith. As you grow older and continue in 
the use of the means of grace, your faith 
will develop and become stronger. Now 
this holy confidence in God, His Word and 
His Son, which has thus been produced in 
your tender hearts, you must not cast away, 
or allow satan to destroy by his wicked 
thoughts of unbelief. Let me illustrate a 
few circumstances under which your faith 
will be tried. 

You have been taught that it is your duty 
to pray, and that God is a prayer-hearing 
God. It is because you have this faith that 
you pray. The devil will try to break up 
this good habit of praying. If he can de- 
stroy your faith in God as a prayer-hearing 



FORT FAITH. 125 

God, he will stop your praying. To ac- 
complish the former, he will suggest such 
thoughts as these to your mind : " God is 
too far off to be heard. He is too great to 
be concerned with His insi^^nificant creatures 
on earth." You can resist this great tempter, 
as our Savior did in the w^ilderness, by 
quoting Scripture to him. When he sug- 
gests the thought that God is too far off to 
be heard, read the following : " Whither 
shall I go from thy spirit ? or whither shall 
I flee from thy presence ? If I take the 
wings of the morning, and dwell in the 
uttermost parts of the sea ; Even there 
shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand 
shall hold me." Ps. 139 : 7, 9, 10. " Can 
any hide himself in secret places that I shall 
not see him ? saith the Lord. Do not I fill 
heaven and earth ? saith the Lord." Jer. 23 : 
24. " When thou prayest, enter into thy 
closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, 
pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and 
thy Father which seeth in secret shall re- 
ward thee openly." Matth. 6 : 6. 



126 HOLD THE FORT. 

When satan suggests to your mind that 
GocT is too great to concern himself about 
you, call to mind such passages as this : 
" Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? 
and one of them shall not fall on the ground 
without your Father. But the very hairs 
of your head are all numbered. Fear ye 
not therefore, ye are of more value than 
many sparrows.'' Matth. 10 : 29—31. If 
satan suggests doubts as to whether God 
will heed your prayers, call to mind the 
promise which the Savior himself made, 
" Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and 
ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you. For every one that asketh re- 
ceiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and 
to him that knocketh it shall be opened." 
Matth. 7 : 7, 8. Study much what the 
Bible says about prayer, and this will greatly 
strengthen your faith in it. Make trial of 
God and learn by experience that He in- 
deed is a prayer-hearing and a prayer-an- 
swering God. This is what David did, and ' 
he has given us his testimony in these beau- 
tiful words, " I love the Lord, because he 



rOKT FAITH. 127 

hath heard my voice and my supplications. 
Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, 
therefore will I call upon him as long as I 
live." Ps. 116: 1, 2. The reason some 
cease to keep up the good habit of praying 
is this, they allow satan to destroy their 
faith in prayer. Beware of the evil sug- 
gestions of this tempter. 

It is said that prayer moves the arm that 
moves the world. It is the greatest power 
that the Christian can wield. Do not allow 
satan to despoil you of it by thoughts of un- 
belief. 

^' Grandpa," said Charity, " what does 
this passage mean, ' And it shall come to 
pass that before they call, I will answer, 
and while they are yet speaking, I will 
liear' ?" Isa. 65 : 24. 

It means this, God foreseeing our prayers, 
often answers them in advance. 

" Does God always answer our prayers ?" 
asks Howard. 

He always hears our prayers if we are 
sincere, but He does not always grant our 



128 HOLD THE FOKT. 

requests. We are sometimes like little chil- 
dren and ask for things which would not be 
good for us, and hence God often in his in- 
finite goodness withholds the objects of our 
petitions. Sometimes, too, God answers our 
prayers in a way we do not expect. If He 
does not remove the burden. He will give 
us strength to bear it ; if He does not re- 
move the affliction, He will give us grace 
and patience to endure it. 

'' Grandpa," asks David, ^^ do you think 
we can remove mountains by prayer ?'' 

It is true our Savior said, " If ye have 
faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall 
say unto this mountain. Remove hence to 
* yonder place; and it shall be removed ; 
and nothing shall be impossible unto you." 
Matth. 17 : 20. But we are not to take 
this passage in a literal sense. I once heard 
of an elderly lady before whose residence 
was a mount which obstructed her view to 
the valley beyond. One ev^ening before re- 
tiring she recalled this passage and prayed 
that the mount might be removed. As soon 



FORT FAITH. 129 

as she arose in the morning, she went to the 
window to see if the mount had really dis- 
appeared. Seeing that it was still there, she 
exclaimed, *'Just as I expected T^ The fact 
that she did not expect to find it removed, 
proved that she had little or no faith, much 
less the " faith as a grain of mustard seed." 
We must take this passage in a figurative 
sense. The mustard seed is very small, but 
planted, it rapidly grows into a tree large 
enough to harbor birds. So if we have 
faith, however small its beginning, and we 
foster it so that it grows and becomes strong, 
we will be able to remove mountains of 
trouble and difficulty. Not a few Christians 
who have been called upon to endure great 
trials and difficulties, have repeatedly ex- 
perienced the truthfulness of this declara- 
tion of our Lord, concerning the removal of 
mountains by faith. It is the prayer of 
faith that triumphs over difficulties and pre- 
vails with God. If satan could destroy this 
faith, he would cut off the very means of 
support to the Christian's life. The poet 
truthfully says : 



130 HOLD THE FORT. 

"Prayer was appointed to convey 
The blessings God designs to give ; 
Long as they live should Christians pray, 
For only while they pray, they live/* 

Satan will try to undermine your faith i i 
the providence of God. . You have been 
taught that God is not only the creator of 
all things and the governor of the universe, 
but that His providence extends to all His 
creatures, and especially to those who love 
Him. It is really interesting to trace the 
hand of divine providence in Old Testament 
history, and especially in the lives of many 
of its noted characters, as : Abraham, Isaac, 
Jacob, Joseph and Moses. With no less 
clearness can the historian trace the hand 
of providence in the history of nations, in 
the rise and fall of empires, the preceding 
being always preparatory to the succeeding. 
Our own country affords one of the finest 
displays of God's providence. This country 
was discovered at a time when the Old 
World needed a New World to colonize, and 
where her new faith and energies might de- 



FORT FAITH. 131 

yelop. The hilly region of the east was first 
settled, and then the more arable lands ly- 
ing westward. Had the level lands of the 
middle and western states been settled first, 
the rough country of the east would not 
have been utilized to the present extent. 

Who stored away for this and succeeding 
generations the rich deposits of iron, coal, 
oil, silver and gold, if not a God of Provi- 
dence ? How opportune were these discover- 
ies. When iron was most needed, then 
came the discovery of its vast deposits. As 
fuel became more in demand, then came the 
discovery of vast beds of coal. When gold 
and silver seemed most needed to place our 
youthful nation on a substantial basis, then 
came the discovery of these precious metals. 
When there was a demand for more and 
better means of illumination, then came the 
discovery of oil and gas. God foreseeing 
the future exigencies of this nation long 
before it was born, stored away these valu- 
able minerals, and when they were needed, 
He opened to man these great magazines of 



132 HOLD THE FORT. 

nature. This great, good and wise provision 
of nature for man's wants should convince 
the most incredulous mind that there is a 
divine providence. 

Any one who will carefully review his 
own life> will see very plainly the hand of 
providence in directing the affairs and events 
of his life. The events of one's life are like 
the links that are united into a chain. If 
one link were to be missing, the chain would 
be incomplete ; so if one event of our life 
were missing, the life chain would be in- 
complete. As the weaver takes dark and 
bright colored yarns and so blends them 
that they are woven into one beautiful fabric, 
so God takes our dark and bright experi- 
ences, our prosperities and our adversities, 
our sickness and health, our joys and our 
sorrows, and weaves them into a beautiful 
Christian life. It is a grand as w^ell as a 
comforting thought that our lives and the 
events of our lives are in God's hand, and 
that He will overrule them for His glory 
and our good. 



FORT FAITH. 133 

Joseph must descend into the pit and dun- 
geon, before he can ascend to great eminence 
in Pharaoh's kingdom. Moses must be in 
exile before he can become the leader of 
Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Job must 
be stripped of his herds, his servants and 
his children, and be covered with loathsome 
sores, before he can enter into and enjoy a 
subsequent state that was far better than his 
first state. Poor John Milton must be blind 
before God will open his spiritual vision to 
Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. 
John Bunyan must be cast into prison be- 
fore he can be inspired to write the Pil- 
grim's Progress. The path to eminence 
and greatness leads through trials, suffering 
and disappointments. Such are the leadings 
of divine providence. David, who under- 
stood the shepherd life and who felt that he 
was under the care of his heavenly Father, 
could say from actual experience, " The 
Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want. 
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ; 
he leadeth me beside the still waters.'' Ps. 
23: 1, 2. 



134 HOLD THE FORT. 

It is a comforting thought that we are in 
the hands of an Almighty Friend, and what- 
ever may befall us in this life, He will 
overrule for His glory and our good. Now 
satan will try to rob you of this comfort by 
undermining your faith in God's provi- 
dence. He may even point you to the 
wicked and say, God does no more for you 
than for them. He may even quote Scrip- 
ture to you as he did to Christ in the wil- 
derness, and say, " He maketh his sun to 
rise on the evil and on the good, and send- 
eth rain on the just and on the unjust.'^ 
Matth. 5 : 45. He will point you to some 
wicked men and say : " Have you not noticed 
that they have good crops, good health in 
their families, and are growing in wealth, 
while many of those who profess to. be 
Christians are less favored. Their crops 
are often poor. They have much sickness 
in their families. Th^y do not seem to get 
along well in this world." Thus by dis- 
paraging insinuations, he will try to under- 
mine your faith in divine providence. Thus 



FORT FAITH. 135 

he tried to overthrow Drvid's faith in God's 
providence. It was this that led him to 
say : " Behold, these are the ungodly who 
prosper in the world ; they increase in 
riches. When I thought to know this, it 
was too painful for me ; until I went into 
the sanctuary of God, then understood I 
their end. Surely thou didst set them in 
slippery places ; thou castedst them down 
into destruction. How are they brought 
into desolation, as in a moment ! they are 
utterly consumed with terrors." Ps. 73 : 
12 — 19. To be prosperous is to stand in 
slippery places. 

The goodness of God should lead men to 
repentance, but in too many cases it is made 
an occasion for indifference. Worldly pros- 
perity is something that any one who is con- 
cerned for the eternal \velfare of his soul, 
should not covet. The danger of worldly 
prosperity is repeatedly pointed out in the 
Holy Scriptures : " The cares of this world, 
and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the 
word, and hcxbecometh unfruitful." Matth. 



136 HOLD THE FORT. 

13 : 22. " How hardly shall they that 
have riches enter into the kingdom of God !" 
Mark 10 : 23. " It is easier for a camel to 
go through the eye of an needle, than for a 
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." 
Mark 10 : 25. How salutary is the advice 
of Paul to Timothy : " The love of money is 
the root of all evil ; which while some 
coveted after, they have erred from 
the faith, and pierced themselves through 
with many sorrows. But thou, O man of 
God, flee these things ; and follow after 
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, 
meekness." 1 Tim. 6 : 10, 11, 

Afllictions in this life are not always evi- 
dences of God's displeasure. They may be 
blessings in disguise. Many a parent has 
been drawn to heaven by his child preced- 
ing him there. Many a man has by the 
loss of worldly goods learned the vanity of 
all things on earth, and was led to lay up 
treasures in heaven, " where neither moth 
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do 
not break through nor steal." Many a 



FORT FAITH. 137 

prodigal son has been overtaken with sick- 
ness, and led to reflect, repent and exclaim : 
" Blessed is the man whom thon chasteneth, 
O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law." 
Ps. 94 : 12. It was the strong conviction 
of this truth that enabled Paul to say, "And 
we know that all things work together for 
good to them that love God, to them who 
are the called according to his purpose." 
Rom. 8 : 28. 

Satan would have you discard the direct- 
ing hand of God. Cat loose from God, you 
would be like a vessel without either anchor 
or compass. The prophet Jeremiah says, 
" O Lord, I know that the way of man is 
not in himself: it is not in man that walk- 
eth to direct his steps." Jer. 10 : 23. Solo- 
mon, the man of wisdom, says, " He that 
trusteth in his own heart is a fool." Prov. 
28: 26. 

Hold on to the great doctrine of God's 

providence. Put yourselves under God's 

protection, care and at His disposal. Luther 

in times of temptation was accustomed to 

10 



138 HOLD THE FORT. 

say, '^ Let us sing a hymn and drive away 
the devil." So when he tempts you to doubt 
God's providence, drive him and his evil 
thoughts away by singing the inspiring 
hymn : 

" He leadeth me ! oh, blessed thought, 
Oh ! words with heavenly comfort fraught ; 
Whate'er I do, whate'er I be. 
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me." 

Satan will try to destroy your faith in 
Christ as your only Savior. Our salvation 
is conditioned by our faith. This is clearly 
and repeatedly taught in the Scriptures : 
^^ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved." Acts 16 : 31. A 
man might know the whole Bible, and be 
acquainted with all its essential facts, and 
yet not have saving faith. There are many 
who know their duty, but do not do it. The 
patient might know the remedy for his dis- 
ease, but as long as he does not apply it, 
this knowledge will do him no good. Too 
many assent to the truth, but are not sensi- 
bly impressed by it. Nor is merely belie v- 



FORT FAITH. 139 

ing the fact that Jesus Christ is the only 
Savior of mankind, saving faith. Saving 
faith is the act of appropriating that of 
which we have a knowledge and in which 
we believe. Thus saving faith not only 
believes the truth, but also appropriates that 
truth. It not only believes in the Bible, 
but also appropriates its promises. It not 
only believes in God, but also apprehends 
Him as the only true object of worship. It 
not only believes in Christ as the only 
Savior, but appropriates Him as such. Job 
uses the language of appropriation when he 
says, '^ I know that my redeemer liveth." 
Mary at the sepulchre said to the angels, 
" They have taken away my Lord.'^ And 
doubting Thomas exclaimed, '^My Lord, 
and my God." 

There is a great difference between believ- 
ing in Christ and believing on Christ. The 
miner, when he looks at the rope overhang- 
ing the yawning shaft and considers it safe, 
simply believes in the rope ; but when he 
lays hold of that rope with his two hands 



140 HOLD THE FORT. 

and swings away from the earth and trusts 
his life to that rope alone, then he believes 
on the rope. Many a one is willing to 
stand by an open mine shaft and say, " I 
believe the rope is strong enough to support 
me," but not every one has the courage to 
lay hold of that rope, and swinging from 
good footing, depend upon it alone. So 
is it with saving faith. Many have a 
knowledge of Christ and believe in the 
truthfulness of His mission to earth as 
the Savior of mankind. But how few, com- 
paratively speaking, really believe on Him 
as their only Savior. Oar Savior declared 
while on earth that " many are called, but 
few are chosen." We fear that the most 
common error of professing Christians is that 
they regard the mere knowledge of Christ 
and the mere belief in Him as a Savior to be 
sufficient, instead of trusting and relying on 
His merits alone for salvation. It takes 
some courage to believe on Christ ; to cut 
oneself entirely loose from all human merit, 
and trust entirely to the merit of Christ. 



FOKT FAITH. 141 

How many are unconsciously depending 
only partly on Christ, and almost wholly 
upon their own works for salvation ! Such 
really build upon a sandy foundation instead 
of on Christ, the Kock. To depend for 
salvation upon our baptism, confirmation^ 
profession, or our works, is not building 
upon Christ. While all these are important 
factors of the Christian life, they are not 
Christ, nor can they take His place. Sal- 
vation is not of works, but of grace. To 
guard us from the fatal rock upon which so 
many make shipwreck of their souls, the 
apostles have sounded their alarm : " By the 
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be jus- 
tified in his sight : for by the law is the 
knowledge of sin." Rom. 3 : 20. ^^ Neither 
is salvation in any other : for there is none 
other name under heaven among men, 
whereby we must be saved." Acts 4 : 12. 
Again, " Examine yourselves, whether ye 
be in the faith : prove your own selves." 
2 Cor. 13 : 5. 

It is an unpleasant thing to be disap- 
pointed under any ordinary circumstance. 



142 HOLD THE FORT. 

But who can form a conception of that 
eternal chagrin and horror which some will 
experience at the last great day. They will 
then discover the great mistake which they 
made for eternity. When the deluge comes 
at the end of the world, they will discover 
that they had taken shelter upon a craft of 
their own making ; and not in the true ark. 
When the storm comes and beats upon their 
house, they will discover that it is not built 
upon the Rock of Ages, but upon the sand ; 
and it will fall, and great will be the fall. 
When the King comes in to see the guests. 
He will discover that they have not the 
wedding garments, the perfect righteousness 
of Christ; but are clothed in their own 
filthy rags of self-righteousness. How ter- 
rible will be the disappointment and con- 
demnation when the sentence of banishment 
is uttered : " Bind him hand and feet, and 
take him away, and cast him in outer dark- 
ness : there shall be weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. For many are called, but few 
are chosen." Matth. 22 : 13, 14. What a 



FOET FAITH. 143 

solemn scene is given in Matth. 7 : 21 — 23 : 
" Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, 
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heav- 
en ; but he that doeth the will of my Father 
which is in heaven. Many will say unto me 
in that day. Lord, Lord, have we not proph- 
esied in thy name ? and in thy name have 
cast out devils ? and in thy name done many 
wonderful works ? And then will I profess 
unto them, I never knew you : depart from 
me, ye that work iniquity." Remember 
that professing and possessing are two dif- 
ferent things. To profess our mere faith in 
Christ is one thing, but to appropriate Him 
by saving faith is quite a different thing — 
it is the all-essential thing for the Christian. 

" Grandpa," asks Walter, " what does 
this passage of Scripture mean, ' Faith with- 
out works is dead' ?" James 2 : 20. 

I am glad you referred to this passage. A 
tree that has life will manifest that life in 
its fruit, but if it bears no fruit, it indicates 
that it is dead. The fruit is not the life of 
the tree, but only the result and proof of 



144 HOLD THE FOET. 

this life. So good works are not faith, but 
the evidence of faith. And where there are 
no works, the faith is dead. Hence to pro- 
fess to believe that God is the only true God 
and not to worship Him, is a dead faith. 
To acknowledge the Bible as the inspired 
Word of God and not to study and obey it, 
is dead faith. To acknowledge that Jesus 
is the only true Savior and not to seek Him, 
is faith without works — a dead faith. 

In the Christian life faith and works must 
go together. In a team of two horses, both 
must pull together. If the oJ6f horse pulls 
and the near horse holds back, it will be a 
poor draft. A pious old patriarch who was 
a ferryman in the highlands of Scotland 
was so impressed with the importance of 
faith and works going together that he in- 
scribed on the one oar of his boat " Faith,'' 
and on the other oar " Works." If any 
passengers wished an explanation and de- 
sired to know the relation of faith to works, 
he would take up oar faith and try to row 
alone with it ; but the boat would only turn 



FORT FAITH. 145 

around and around without advancing. 
Then laying faith down, he took up the oar 
works and tried to row alone with it ; but 
this effort was attended with no better suc- 
cess. Then taking up both faith and works 
and applying them vigorously, the little boat 
soon shot across the lake. He thus taught 
the importance of faith and works going 
together. Is not this the secret of success 
in all departments of industry ? The farmer 
believes that it is God that giveth the in- 
crease, but he himself must plow and sow. 
The mechanic believes that a certain article 
can be made. He couples his energies with 
his faith, and the article is produced. 

'' Grandpa,'^ said Charity, " I think I now 
see why it is necessary to unite work with 
faith. To-day I had a hard lesson in his- 
tory, I believed that I could get the lesson, 
but the mere believing this would not get 
the lesson. I went to work and studied 
hard, and succeeded." 

Yes, my child, you are right. We must 
first have faith and then go to work in the 



146 HOLD THE FORT. 

faithful use of the means that God has given 
us for the accomplishment of certain ends. 
If you have saving faith in Christ, it will 
show itself. You will think much about 
your Savior, you will serve Him, and will 
be willing to make sacrifices for Him and 
His cause. The fact that so many professed 
Christians pray and read their Bible so sel- 
dom, are so irregular in their attendance 
upon the means of grace, and take so little 
interest in the prayer meeting, the Sunday 
school, and the missionary enterprises of the 
Church, is an indication that they have 
little or no true saving faith in Jesus Christ. 
Do not allow satan by his evil suggestions 
of unbelief to destroy your faith in prayer. 
Providence, or in Christ, your only Savior. 
Faith is the key to the whole situation. If 
satan can capture Fort Faith, he will cap- 
ture all the other strongholds of Christ's 
kingdom on earth. But we have the prom- 
ise that the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against the Church. Therefore take cour- 
age. 



CHAPTEK IX. 



Fort Temperance. 



Now, children, our evening talks which 
have been so pleasant to me and apparently 
both enjoyable and instructive to you, would 
not be complete without a plain talk upon 
the subject of Temperance. This is one of 
the greatest questions of our age and coun- 
try. There never was a time when so much 
interest was manifested in this subject as 
at present. It has become an individual, a 
social, a political, and a national question ; 
and it is fast becoming a Church question. 
Every individual has the question thrust 
upon him, and he must either bravely stand 
his ground in its defence, or flee like an 
unprincipled coward. The great question 
of temperance is thrust upon society, and it 
must take a stand either for or against it. 
In some localities society has already deci- 



148 HOLD THE FOET. 

ded the question in favor of temperance, 
while in other localities the struggle between 
the opposing sentiments is still raging. Po- 
litical parties dare not tamper with this 
question any longer. Heretofore the tem- 
perance cause has been used like a foot-ball 
between the old political parties, kicked 
from one side to the other as might best 
subserve their political intrigues. It cer- 
tainly is no credit to any political party to 
profess publicly to be the friend of the cause 
of temperance and then secretly thrust a 
dagger at it. The treachery of such a po- 
litical policy cannot exist long or command 
the respect of honorable citizens. That po- 
litical party which not only professes tem- 
perance, but possesses real temperance, will 
eventually decide the great question. 

The Church, which hitherto has tamely 
treated the subject of temperance as a mere 
Christian virtue and quietly recommended 
its practice, dare no longer ignore temper- 
ance as the great moral and religious issue 
of our age. Its synods, conferences and 



rOKT TEMPERANCE. 149 

assemblies dare not pass it by in silence. 
These ecclesiastical bodies are therefore giv- 
ing their deliverance upon the great tem- 
perance question. They are obliged thus 
to define their position on this issue. It is 
gratifying to read their positive action which 
is usually taken in the form of strong tem- 
perance resolutions. The time is fast com- 
ing when every minister of the Gospel 
must publicly define his position on the 
temperance question. He must either fall 
in rank with the temperance movement, or 
sufier the odium his doubtful course entails 
upon him. All over the land and in almost 
every denomination, ministers who ten years 
ago were indifferent to this subject, and who 
said that temperance was a political matter 
and should not be mentioned in the pulpit 
lest it give offence, are now coming out 
boldly on the side of temperance as the great 
moral and national evil of our day. They 
denounce in the strongest terms not only 
intemperance as a great evil, but also those 
who in any way encourage it. The cry 



150 HOLD THE FORT. 

along the ministerial rank is, Forward, on- 
ward, ye Christian heralds of the cross. 

" Grandpa/' asks David, " I hear people 
talk so much about intemperance ; does the 
Bible say anything about it ?" 

Yes, the Bible says much on this impor- 
tant subject, and as the Bible is our highest 
authority, we will consider what it says. 
The priests were forbidden to drink wine. 
In Lev. 10 : 8 — 11 we read, ^^And the Lord 
spake unto Aaron, saying. Do not drink 
wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons 
with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of 
the congregation, lest ye die : it shall be a 
statute for ever throughout your generations : 
And that ye may put a difference between 
holy and unholy, and between unclean and 
clean ; And that ye may teach the children 
of Israel all the statutes which the Lord 
hath spoken unto them by the hand of 
Moses." Strong drink deranges a man's 
mind so that he does not make a difference 
between holy and unholy things, between 
the clean and unclean, the right and the 



FORT TEMPEKANCE. 151 

wrong, the good and the evil. Nadab and 
Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord, 
and were consumed. It is probable that 
they were drunk and offered it in drunken 
mockery. 

The prophets were not to use intoxicating 
drink. " The priest and the prophet have 
erred through strong drink, they are out of 
the way through strong drink ; they err in 
vision, they stumble in judgment." Isaiah 
28 . 7. It was the duty of the prophet to 
apprehend the visions of the Lord correctly, 
and to execute wise and just judgment 
among the people. But this he could not 
do when intoxicated. The drunken man 
errs in vision. He sees things in their 
wrong light. To him a moving shadow on 
the wall is a sporting demon, a moving 
wagon on the highway is a train of cars, 
and the eternal hills are moving clouds. 
To him the world is upside down. The 
drunken man errs also in judgment. If 
there is no fuel with which to build a fire, 
no food to feed the family, no clothes to 



152 HOLD THE FORT. 

protect the children, and no peace in the 
home, whom does the drunken husband and 
father blame ? Does he blame his own 
drunkenness — the true cause of this misery 
and wretchedness ? No, he errs in judgment. 
He casts the blame upon his poor suffering 
wife, his neglected children, his innocent 
neighbors, and not unfrequently upon " bad 
luck." 

In Proy. 31 : 4, 5, kings and princes are 
exhorted to abstain from wine and strong 
drink : " It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is 
not for kings to drink wine ; nor for princes 
strong drink : Lest they drink, and forget 
the law, and pervert the judgment of any of 
the afflicted." Kings and princes are called 
upon to discharge responsible duties for the 
people. But they cannot do this properly 
when under the influence of wine. What a 
lesson is this for politicians. No man is 
competent for any civil office who drinks. 
No candidate with the scent of strong drink 
upon his breath should be sustained. 



FOET TEMPERANCE. 153 

In Prov. 20 : 1 we are warned against the 
use of strong drink, because it mocks man- 
kind and enrages the passions : " Wine is a 
mocker, strong drink is raging : whoso is 
deceived thereby is not wise." It mocks 
the fondest expectations a father may have 
of his promising son. It deceives the con- 
fidence of a loving mother. We see this 
mocking in the degradation of Noah, in the 
incest of Lot, in the strange fire of Nadab 
and Abihu, and in the apostacy of the 
priests and prophets of Israel and Judah. 
We see it in the long and shameful de- 
bauchery of Solomon, in the overthrow of 
king Belshazzar, and in the wreck of Herod. 
In our day thousands of the most talented 
and promising are led away by its deceptions. 

In Prov. 23 : 29 we have six miseries of 
intemperance given in the form of ques- 
tions : " Who hath woe ? who hath sorrow ? 
who hath contentions ? who hath babbling ? 
who hath wounds without cause ? who hath 
redness of eyes ?" The answer is given in 
the next verse, " They that tarry long at the 
11 



154 HOLD THE FORT. 

wine ; they that go to seek mixed wine." 
Hence we have the solemn admonition given, 
^' Look not thon upon the wine when it is 
red, when it giveth his color in the cup, 
when it moveth itself aright." Prov. 23 : 
31 . Eve tarried and looked at the forbidden 
fruit. She was tempted, and fell. So many 
tarry at the hotel and look upon the wine 
when it is red, and fall. ^'At the last it 
biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an 
adder." Prov. 23 : 32. A serpent's bite 
is treacherous and poisonous. The sting of 
the adder is painful and fatal. How many 
poor deluded souls experience the sting of 
intemperance. What must be the feeling of 
a man who through intemperance has lost 
his character, his earthly possessions, as home 
and farm, and has entailed untold miseries 
upon his once happy family. What must be 
the feeling of that man who through intem- 
perance has lost hope of heaven, for we read, 
" Drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom 
of God." 1 Cor. 6 : 10. 



FOUT TEMPER A]^CE. 155 

In Prov. 23 : 35 we read, " They have 
stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not 
sick ; they have beaten me, and I felt it 
not : when shall I awake ? I will seek it yet 
again." The man in the gutter has been 
beaten and bruised, but at the time was un- 
conscious of it. Gradually he becomes 
sober, but immediately resorts to his cup 
and continues his debauchery. Is not this 
a scene of daily occurrence in almost every 
town and city ? 

God solemnly denounces those who give 
intoxicating drinks to others. We read in 
Hab. 2: 15, ^^ Woe unto him that giveth 
his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle 
to him, and makest him drunken." What 
must be the condemnation of those who set 
out the bottle of strong drink to their fellow- 
men, or who lead the unguarded to the bar 
of death. Are they not guilty of murder in 
the first degree, and guilty of breaking the 
commandment "Thou shalt not kill"? 
What will be the condemnation of the re- 
puted good citizen and church member (?) 



156 HOLD THE FORT. 

who signs a petition to secure a license to 
sell this destroyer of body and soul to his 
fellowmen ? Is he less responsible than the 
bartender for the misery and crime there 
produced ? Will his condemnation be less ? 

'' Grandpa/' asked Charity, " is intem- 
perance a crime ?" 

In order to answer this question we will 
turn to Webster's unabridged dictionary 
and learn what constitutes crime. He gives 
three definitions of crime: 1.) Any viola- 
tion of law, either divine or human. 2.) 
Any aggravated offence against morality or 
the public welfare. 3.) That which occa- 
sions crime. Intemperance is a crime in 
this three-fold sense. 

Intemperance is a destroyer of peace. 
How many homes, once peaceful and happy, 
have been blighted by its withering curse. 
How often is the quiet of a community dis- 
turbed by the carousals of a drunken rabble. 
How often has the once quiet and composed 
conscience been thrown into a fever of ex- 
citement and confusion. 



FORT TEMPERANCE. 157 

Intemperance is a robber. It robs its 
victim of health, stability of nerves, moral 
power, good name, and of a good influence. 
It has robbed many a clerk of his position, 
many a physician of his practice, and many 
a lawyer of his clients. It has robbed many 
a man of a fine residence or farm. Like a 
highway robber, it waylays the poor laborer 
on his homeway and steals his hard-earned 
wages. It breaks into the family circles and 
robs the wife of the love, sympathy and 
support of her husband. It fills her life 
with wretchedness, misery and ceaseless 
drudgery. It blunts her fine sensibilities 
and forecasts her path to the very grave 
with the darkest gloom. In her forlorn and 
hopeless condition she thinks what she is, 
and what she might have been, if she at one 
time had said no. All the pleasures which 
were once sacred, dear and sweet, are now 
stolen away by the intemperance of her 
husband. 

The children are robbed of an affectionate 
father. Once that father's heart was loving 



158 HOLD THE FORT. 

and sympathetic, now it is cold, callous and 
cruel. There is now no music in his name. 
His very footfalls startle them. Instead of 
kind words, they receive only harsh words 
and cruel treatment. Intemperance has 
given them squallor for cleanliness, frowns 
for smiles, and terror and fear for love and 
confidence. 

Intemperance is a murderer. Murder 
and treason are regarded as the highest 
forms of civil crime. Statistics prove that 
more men die from intemperance than any 
other cause of mortality. Its victims far 
exceed that of war or any pestilence. It is 
estimated that intemperance slays annually 
in this country one hundred thousand human 
beings. Think how many fathers and sons 
are thus yearly slain. Recall the names of 
those who have fallen in your own neigh- 
borhood through strong drink. I can recall 
the names of scores who have thus been 
slain by this demon. Yes, intemperance 
is a crime, a great crime ; and it should be 
treated as such. 



FORT TEMPEKANCE. 159 

" Grandpa/' asks Walter, " how much 
money is expended annually in our country 
for intoxicating drinks ?" 

About nine hundred million dollars. 
This is a large sum which you cannot com- 
prehend very easily, so I will put it in com- 
parison with the amounts we spend for other 
objects. The annual expenditures in the 
United States, based on the census of 1880 
and other reliable authorities, are as follows : 

Home and Foreign Missions,.. $ 5,500,000 

Public Education, 85.000,000 

Boots and Shoes, 196,000,000 

Cotton Goods, 210,000,000 

Woolen Goods,.. 237,000,000 

Meat, 303,000,000 

Bread, 505,000,000 

Tobacco, 600,000,000 

Liquor, 900,000,000 

What a sad contrast is this in our expen- 
ses. For every one dollar that is spent for 
missions, $109 are spent for tobacco and 
$163 are spent for liquors. There is as 
much money expended for tobacco and 
strong drink as is expended altogether for 
missions J education, boots and shoes, cotton 



160 HOLD THE FOET. 

and woolen goods, meat and bread. In com- 
puting the expenditures for liquors we 
should add $1,000,000,000 which it costs 
this country annually to take care of the 
800,000 paupers, the 316,000 criminals and 
the 30,000 idiots occasioned by intemper- 
ance. 

" Grandpa, is intemperance on the in- 
crease or decline?" asks Charity. 

Notwithstanding laws have been enacted 
to restrict the manufacture and sale of 
strong drink, intemperance seems to be 
on the increase. The average consumption 
of strong drink in 1840 was 4 gallons to a 
person, in 1850 it was 4.08 gallons, in 1860 
it was 6.43 gallons, in 1870 it was 7.69 
gallons, in 1880 it was 10.08 gallons, and 
in 1890 it was 15.51 gallons. This rapid 
increase of intemperance indicates how in- 
efficient the liquor license law is. At first 
we had the common license, and intemper- 
ance increased under that. Then we intro- 
duced high license, and intemperance made 
more rapid progress. The experience of 



FOKT TEMPERAI^CE. 161 

the past proves that license in any form 
cannot stem the tide of intemperance. 

" Grandpa," asks David, " how many 
saloons are there in the United States ?" 

Four years ago there were about 200,000, 
now there are about 250,000 ; an increase 
of 50,000 within four years. Let us make 
a little calculation. If we allow twenty feet 
front to each saloon and place them adjoin- 
ing to one another on the opposite sides of 
the same street, it would give us a street of 
saloons just 473 miles long. Nor is the 
rum-seller satisfied with his 250,000 grog- 
geries in this country. He takes his deadly 
drugs to heathen lands and deals them out 
to the unsuspecting with fatal results. It 
is stated upon good authority that where 
one missionary is sent to the foreign field, 
70,000 gallons of run! are sent there. And 
for every convert to Christianity, 100 are 
made drunkards principly through imported 
rum. How appalling are these figures. 

" How can this great evil be removed ?'^ 
exclaimed Charity. 



162 HOLD THE FORT. 

Experience has proyen that it cannot be 
suppressed either by the common or the 
high license law. License in itself is wrong 
as it legalizes intemperance, which accord- 
ing to Webster is crime in a three-fold 
sense. It would be no less wrong to legalize 
theft or murder. License is at best a com- 
promise of temperance with intemperance. 
" What fellowship hath righteousness with 
unrighteousness ? and what communion 
hath light with darkness V 2 Cor. 6 : 14. 
I can see but one safe policy to be pursued 
in the suppression of this great evil : total 
abstinence on the part of the individual, 
and total prohibition by law of the manu- 
facture and sale of intoxicating drinks. All 
boys and girls, men and women are solemnly 
enjoined to let strong drink alone, lest at 
last it bite like a serpent and sting like an 
adder. The motto of Fort Temperance is, 
" Touch not, taste not, handle not." Col. 
2 : 21. Daniel and his three companions 
practiced abstinence when they desired 
" pulse to eat, and water to drink." Dan. 



FORT TEMPERANCE. 163 

1 : 12. When the Rechabites were asked 
to drink wine, they said, " We will drink no 
wine : for Jonadab the son of Rechab our 
father commanded us, saying. Ye shall 
drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for 
ever." Jer. 35 : 6. 

Intemperance is a high crime against God 
and man, and it should be treated as any 
other crime. It should be strictly prohibi- 
ted by law under penalty commensurate to 
its own criminality. The temperance ques- 
tion has become a great issue of our time. 
The people are rapidly taking sides. The 
line of demarcation is being more clearly 
defined. On the side of temperance are 
arrayed the Sons of Temperance, the Good 
Templars, the Templars of Honor, the 
Women's Christian Temperance Union. 
These are all strong associations, and consist 
of intelligent and influential persons. To 
this list is to be added the controlling ele- 
ment in 300,000 churches and Sunday 
schools. Here, too, we find the mothers and 
sisters who have at heart the welfare of their 
sons and brothers. 



164 HOLD THE FOET. 

On the other side are arrayed c long line 
of groggeries, saloons and hotels ; the liquor 
manufacturers and dealers ; drunkards, 
thieves and murderers ; night revellers and 
corrupt politicians, and men who for gain 
would take the last penny from the drunk- 
ard and his suffering family. It cannot be 
denied that temperance and intemperance 
are represented by these two sides. Now, 
children, on which side would you like to 
be? 

" On the side of temperance ! on the side 
of total abstinence ! on the side of prohibi- 
tion !" they all exclaim. 

I hope you will always be on the side of 
temperance and be good temperance work- 
ers. 

Now, children, this brings, our interest- 
ing conference of nine evenings to a close. 
Do not forget the topics of our conversa- 
tion, or the instruction that has been im- 
parted. Remember that Christ has His 
line of strongholds. These are the great 
principles of His kingdom. He wants us 



FORT TEMPERANCE. 165 

ail as soldiers to be true and faithful to our 
sacred trust, knowing that we war a spirit- 
ual warfare in this life. And then when 
our service is ended in the cause of our 
blessed Master and the strife is over, may 
we all be able to say with Paul : " I have 
fought a good fight. I have finished my 
course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth 
there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, 
shall give me at that day : and not to me 
only, but unto them also that love his ap- 
pearing." 2 Tim. 4 : 7, 8. 



Finis. 



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